Age Appropriate
by xxTheRainWillFallxx
Summary: For a girl with a past, moving on is never easy. But just when one thing starts to go right, everything else goes wrong. Follow Gabriella as she deals with everything from the death of her father, tension with her mother, a complicated relationship with her boyfriend, and a surprise or two that will turn their lives upside down. Rated T for now, subject to change late.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:: So I don't own High School Musical nor any characters or people affliated with it that may pop up in this story. I don't own any quotes that I may use or certain places, objects, or companies that may be mentioned in this story as well. I do however own the laptop this story was written on as well as any characters that may not seem familiar because it means I made them up. How rich i would be if I did own any of that mentioned above *sigh***

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_**To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, one clover, and a bee, and revery. The revery alone will do if bees are few.**_

_**-Emily Dickinson**_

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Age Appropriate

Chapter 1

Gabriella Montez giggled, her 17 year old body curling up next to her boyfriend on the couch as they watched the Hangover Part II, his favorite movie. Together the two watched as Alan sat on the floor trying to inspect the object that was peeking out from under a blanket, which they already knew was Chow's penis. They had seen this movie over a hundred times since it came out.

Gabriella looked up to catch Troy Bolton's face as he laughed when the monkey started to play with Chow's penis, loving the look of satisfaction that was radiating off of him at this moment. She couldn't help but stare as she bit her lip and rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling into his t-shirt and kissing the exposed skin on his neck.

His hand that was resting on her hip, moved so it was under her shirt and he rubbed the skin on her waist as he tore his eyes away from the movie to meet her awaiting gaze. He smiled, leaning down to press a quick kiss on her lips, their eyes never leaving each others.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked her, a smirk forming on his face while he watched her blush at being caught.

"I could ask you the same question," she fired back, an identical smirk on her own facial features.

"You were staring at me first!"

"Are we really playing that game?" She asked, a smile forming in place of her smirk.

He shrugged. "If you want to."

Gabriella shook her head. "You're so unbelievable. Can I just stare at my boyfriend because I want to?"

Troy looked as if he were thinking about it for a second before Gabriella's hand smacked him on the leg. "Okay," he gave in with a laugh, his hand coming up to her face. "But keep those pretty little eyeballs of yours in that head," he used his finger to poke her forehead which caused her to lean over and bite the edge of his ear just as the door opened.

"Ow, woman," he complained with a fake pout as his friends walked in the small living room.

"You guys being rough with each other again," his roommate Chad Danforth asked as he walked in and sat down on the couch on the other side of Gabriella.

Roommate, right. That's one thing that wasn't mentioned. Troy had a roommate because he didn't live at home anymore…because he happened to be 20 years old. It was the one thing about the couple that no one would ever guess just from looking at them. The way they acting and with how comfortable and close they were, no one would know the 3 and a half year age gap between the two.

When people find out about the age gap though, the first thing that they do is criticize. They think they know all the facts and all the elements of the relationship. The most common saying would have to be that of why a 20 year old bachelor as attractive as Troy would willingly want to be in an exclusive relationship, especially with a girl that was still in high school. No one understood why, and they probably never would, but it didn't matter because the couple wasn't looking for approval. They honestly didn't care.

"Shut up," Troy answered, tossing an empty water bottle in his direction right before he reached over Gabriella to grab the remote from Troy's lap.

"Excuse me," Gabriella laughed looking over at the dark-skinned guy on her left.

Chad had successfully changed the channel from the movie on HBO to a cable channel that was playing the NBA finals. He looked over at his best friend and roommates' girlfriend with wide confused eyes. "What?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "We were kinda watching that…"

"Kinda?"

"We were watching it," Troy intervened. "Wanna give that remote back and go watch the finals in your room buddy?"

Chad looked back at Troy as if he had just told him he was going to experiment and cut off the tight ringlets that clung to the top of his head. "Why don't you guys go in your room and make out. 'Cause we all know that's what you're going to end up doing instead of watching the rest of the movie."

Troy's arm that was resting on the back of the couch behind Gabriella's head reached over to thwack Chad on the arm. "Dude?"

Chad shrugged. "You want privacy with your girl, you go in your room. Simple."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It's okay, I have to get going anyway."

"What, why?"She stood up as Troy kept his grip on her hand. She tried to pull away, but his hold was tight.

"Baby, I've been over here pretty much since Monday. My mom's starting to get suspicious about me supposedly sleeping over at Taylor's all week. She's probably going to want me home tonight." She leaned over, giving him a quick peck before pulling away from him. He groaned from his spot still on the couch as she bent over and picked up her bag and slipped on her shoes. "I'll call you before I go to sleep."

Troy nodded watching as she smiled at him before disappearing out the apartment door. He looked over to see Chad chuckling at him, head shaking. "What?"

"You are soooo whipped," Chad commented turning back to the TV as Troy just rolled his eyes, not a word of denial ever once leaving his mouth.

_**-XOXO-**_

Gabriella walked in the house a little after 9 to see her mother, Julianne Montez, sitting on the couch, a bowl of popcorn in hand as she watched a new episode of The Bachelor. "Hey."

"Hi, how was school?"

"Fine," Gabriella answered, feeling just the slight bit awkward. Ever since her Dad died 4 years ago, things hadn't been the same. Her and her mother just weren't close anymore, so most days they just didn't talk.

"And how is Troy? I assume you went over to see him after school today?"

She nodded. "He's fine."

"I didn't expect you home so early," her mother continued, trying to make conversation.

Gabriella looked down at her shoes as if they were so interesting. "Well, Chad came home and they were watching the NBA finals and I still have homework and class tomorrow so…"

Her mother nodded. "Good, I guess I'll let you get to it though. I made Lasagna for dinner; it's on the stove."

The younger Montez shook her head. "I'm not too hungry. I'll have a salad or something before I sleep."

"Gabriella…" the older woman started to scold, but Gabriella wouldn't let her finish.

"I'm fine Mom! You don't have to worry about me. I'm going to eat without throwing it back up, I've been doing so for how long now," she challenged with attitude before she quickly ended the situation and conversation by heading up to her room.

Julianne sighed, turning back to the TV. That was another issue that had plagued the Montez family over the last year or so. Of course Gabriella was small, she'd always been that way. She was petite and never weighed more than 115 pounds. But a little over a year ago, Gabriella had been diagnosed with Bulimia. Shocker? Well there's a story behind it.

18 months ago, Gabriella had been in the middle of her sophomore year of high school and dating one of the most popular guys in school, Jake Leanly. He was the captain of the football team, a stud, and a jerk. Gabriella could have done so much better than him, but she stuck around only for it to hurt her in the end.

She'd always been faithful to Jake, but she couldn't say the same for him. He'd cheated multiple times, but always convinced her not to break up with him by promising her things and treating her like a Queen for a couple of days, but soon enough, he'd get right back to his old ways. What really hurt her was when he started to tell her that she wasn't pretty enough, her clothes weren't sexy enough, legs not long enough, and body not thin enough. It was the worst thing a guy could ever tell a girl and for this girl, it would wind up changing her life.

This is what made Gabriella crack. She started eating large portions of food and then forcing herself to throw it up immediately after. Soon enough, portions became smaller and the amount of times she threw up a week became more frequent. She'd been at it for about 3 months before her mother found out and forced her to finally get help. She broke up with Jake, sharing news about what his comments had done to her, but he only blamed her which sent her into remission. 14 months ago, Gabriella had officially been diagnoses with Bulimia. She was admitted to a doctor, given medication to help her eat, and seeing a therapist 3 days a week.

It wasn't enough. 2 months after being diagnosed, a year ago now, Gabriella was admitted into a rehabilitation center, where she stayed for 4 months before she found herself strong enough to come home, to deal with the stress and temptation. She met Troy then, at a movie theatre with her friends; her first night out since before she was diagnosed and she wasn't at all comfortable with herself at the time. Two months later, she and Troy were officially dating and she had grown far from who she was. They had been dating for 6 months and she was stronger now, she hadn't relapsed in 14 months now, but the people around her still had moments of worry and it killed her that faith in her was lost from time to time, but she handled it as best as she could.

Especially when her mother was completely against her currently relationship. She could see why, but that was no excuse for the coldness the two shared, but it wasn't like either of them was working to fix the situation. They preferred things to stay the way they were. It was easier to just deal with things the way they were rather than fixing it. The only person it seemed she could really talk to besides Taylor seemed to be her Aunt Melissa, but her aunt was young, beautiful, and in her prime, so it wasn't often that she saw her.

The 17 year old dropped her stuff on her bed, kicking off her shoes and collapsing backwards on the bed. She stared at the ceiling fan above her head that was set on high. A turn of the head to the left and she caught her iPod dock flashing the time 7:21. Sighing and sitting up to shrug off her jacket, pull down her skinny jeans and switch from the ruffled tank top she was wearing to her old oversized twilight t-shirt, she pulled back the covers and climbed into bed.

That night she fell asleep staring at the wall, wondering just what would strike her life next. Little did she know, a surprise would come all too soon and not only rock, but turn everyone's world upside down.

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**Author's Note: Sooooo...I promised a new story before August 20th and it's the 19th! Cutting it close I know, but I have a good amount of chapters written for this story and I just wanted to make sure I was in a good place before I posted the story. That and I also wanted to keep you guys waiting ya know for the suspense...JK. Anyway I hope you enjoy the first chapter and that most of you guys are still with me although I haven't posted in a while. I start school tomorrow so I'm predicting the next update to be Wednesday or Thursday and if not then definitely Friday. Thanks again and Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_Gabriella…" the older woman started to scold, but Gabriella wouldn't let her finish._

"_I'm fine Mom! You don't have to worry about me. I'm going to eat without throwing it back up, I've been doing so for how long now," she challenged with attitude before she quickly ended the situation and conversation by heading up to her room._

**_xx_**

_But a little over a year ago, Gabriella had been diagnosed with Bulimia._

**_xx_**

_That night she fell asleep staring at the wall, wondering just what would strike her life next. Little did she know, a surprise would come all too soon and not only rock, but turn everyone's world upside down._

**Disclaimer:: Still don't own HSM or any characters affiliated, nor the quotes that I use in the beginning. I don't own The Vow or HBO AND I don't own iPhone or any apple products for that matter aside from my own personal 32G iPod touch. (: Enjoy**

**Authors Note: I would like to thank everyone who added me or my story to their favorite stories or favorite authors list and I appreciate it and I also would like to thank the few of you that did review, but I'd like to see a little more. If you've ever written a story, you know how important it is to have reviews that way you have feedback. I'd like to know if you guys are liking everything and the way a story may be portrayed so please don't hesitate to leave your thoughts in a review, they are greatly appreciated. Remember if I don't get many reviews I won't know if I should continue or not so voice your opinions they're all welcome, even anonymous.**

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_**A whole stack of memories never equals one little hope.**_

_** -Charles M. Schulz**_

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Chapter 2

Gabriella sighed once more, hitting the button to lock her phone and setting it on the table beside her.

"He still not answering?" her best friend Taylor McKessie asked from where she stood in her kitchen a week later on a Friday night.

She stood from the couch and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and leaning against the counter to look at Taylor. "Of course not."

Taylor dipped her pinky finger in the chocolate brownie batter and licked it off before moving to spread it out in a pan. "When'd you last hear from him?"

"Wednesday night. He had work Thursday at 10 and then went straight to class when he got off at 4 and then he did a double shift this morning. I'm guessing he's hanging out with the guys or sleeping. Probably the first."

Taylor quickly put the pan in the pre-heated oven before wiping her hands on a towel and turning to her annoyed friend. "Does that bother you?"

"What? That's he's probably out at some club getting drunk and hitting on some hot chick who's his age. No, Tay, doesn't bother me at all."

Taylor narrowed her eyes. "No need for sarcasm. But do you really think that's what he's doing?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Well I know he's not sleeping, so I'm pretty positive that's exactly what he's doing."

"Does it piss you off?"

"I can't say it does because I knew what I was getting into when we started dating. It's not exactly something new. But it does make me a little mad that he goes out and then ignores my calls. He knew that when we started dating that I had worries about the age difference and he promised me that it didn't matter to him, but I think he is too uncaring about it."

"Why?"

"Because sometimes I get scared. After everything that happened with Jake, I'm afraid that I'm not good enough. I feel like he's gonna find someone else, someone prettier and make his age that can do all the things he does and has more freedom than I do."

Taylor looked pained by the information given by her best friend. She moved closer, her hand falling on her back as she rubbed it comfortingly. "Gabi, honey, you don' have to be scared. And don't ever think you're not good enough, because anyone would be damn lucky to have girl like you. If he feels like you're not as good as some 20 year old slut, then who wants him anyway? Plus you'll be 18 when school gets out and starting college as well, if that's not freedom, I don't know what is."

Gabriella laughed. "I know I just can't help but think about…"

"Well don't! You're fucking amazing Gabi! I would know! You're my best friend and I'll always be here for you."

She smiled. "I know Tay and I love you."

"Of course, I love you too. Now I think The Vow is finally gonna be on HBO tonight. What do you say to a couple chick flicks and those brownies?"

"I say, why haven't we already started?"

Taylor jumped up excited and led Gabriella over to the couch where the girls sat and watched their troubles away.

_**-XOXO-**_

The next day, Gabriella was back at her house by 1 and in the kitchen making herself a sandwich for lunch. The front door opened, her mother appearing from behind it, groceries in hand.

"What happened to the girl's day you and Taylor were having?" Julianne asked as she pulled items out of the bag to stock in the cabinets and fridge.

Gabriella shrugged. "We had a girl's night, it was fine. She had plans with Alex anyway, so…"

Her mother nodded, watching the teen intently. "So any plans for the day?"

"Nope."

"Well do you want to go see that new movie with that guy you like…what's his name?"

"Uhm, Magic Mike and it's Channing Tatum. Tay and I are going to see it tomorrow."

"Oh. Guess I'll just find something on TV."

"Mhmm."

"Call your Aunt. She called while you were out last night; wanted to know how you and Troy were doing," Julianne moved on, deciding not to press the issue of bonding with her daughter any longer.

Gabriella nodded, taking a bite of her finally finished sandwich and chewing slowly, avoiding looking in her mothers' direction. It had only been seconds after she'd swallowed the bite of the sandwich when she felt an odd feeling in her stomach that drifted up to her esophagus, a wave of nauseous pushing her to run for the bathroom.

"Gabriella?" her mother called after her, confused and following her down the hall.

"Leave me al…," Gabriella called before her voice was cut off and replaced with a repulsing sound. Her mother rounded the corner and was met with the sight of her child leaning over the white porcelain bowl, empting the contents of her stomach.

"Honey," she moved toward the teenager, attempting to console her, but Gabriella moved, the retching finally ceasing and held her hand up as she leant against the wall by the toilet, wiping her mouth.

"I'm fine Mom."

"You call that fine? You take one bite of food and then throw up? I thought we were past this…"

"I'm not throwing up on purpose? God, do you not trust me!?" Gabriella snapped, standing and flushing before going to the sink to wash her face and brush her teeth with the extra toothbrush.

"This is not about trust. If you have a problem, you need to tell me."

"I don't have a problem."

"Gabriella, making yourself throw up is not a problem? What exactly do you think is?"

"I'm not making myself throw up! It was one time, my stomach felt weird and I barfed, get over it!"

Julianne's eyes darkened, grabbing Gabriella. "I will not get over it! My bulimic daughter just threw up."

"I'm not fucking relapsing!"

"Watch your mouth," she warned.

Gabriella groaned. "I'm not relapsing. I feel fine, it must have been something I ate earlier or last night."

"Gabriella you will always be bulimic…"

"You think I don't know that? I'm well aware of my own fucking disease and I know how to take care of it. Just stop acting like you're Mom of the Year because you're not!"

"What are you talking about?"

"If you really cared, you would have caught on the first couple of times it happened. Instead you were too busy working to realize that I was feeling uncomfortable in my own skin."

"Gabriella…"

"Do me a favor, Mom. Stop trying to make up for what you've done…or really haven't done and just do what you do best: live your life as if I'm not here."

_**-XOXO-**_

Troy awoke that morning feeling as if someone had beat him senseless and then ran over his head with a thousand pound truck a couple hundred times. He wasn't sure if it would be better to just lie in his bed and try to ride out the pain by sleeping it away, or get up and take pain medication to help him along the way. It was then that he remembered he had a class at 4 and that he would have to settle for the second option, as much as he knew he was going to hate it.

He groaned, opening his eyes to view that brief sunlight that was entering his room. The digital clock on the nightstand said that it was 1:41 and he immediately started to regret going out the night before. He would always drink himself into oblivion on Friday night, forgetting all about his class on Saturday until he woke up 2 hours before he had to be to that class with a hangover from hell.

Practically pulling himself out of bed, Troy slugged over to the bathroom in nothing but his boxers, squinting as his disheveled appearance in the mirror before walking over to the toilet to take a piss. After handling his business he quickly splashed some water on his face at the sink before throwing on a wife beater and walking out of his room and down the hall to the kitchen.

"Look who's up," came Chad's loud voice as Troy looked around to see Jason and Zeke sitting at their small kitchen table. "Good morning sunshine."

He groaned in response, plopping down and resting his head on the table. "I feel fucking awful."

"I told you it wasn't a good idea to get shitfaced," Chad practically sung as he stood by the sink with a mug of coffee.

"Shut up," he grumbled at his best friend and roommate. "Coffee?" he asked, lifting his head up momentarily to ask his friend.

Chad shrugged, coming to sit down beside him. "Get it yourself."

"Ugh!" Troy pulled himself up and toward the coffee maker as he heard the laughs of his friends behind him. "Assholes."

"So did you hear from that hot chick?" Zeke asked from his spot.

Troy shook his head. "What chick?"

Chad guffawed, turning to stare at him. "What chick? The fucking hot as hell strawberry blond that was all over you last night. You gave her your number…"

"I did?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," Jason answered. "She only wanted to talk to you. Lucky bastard."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't know, haven't seen my phone."

Chad nodded. "'Cause you were THAT shitfaced last night."

"Suck it!"

"I believed that's Gabriella's job."

"Gabriella's job… oh ha-ha fun…wait! Where's my phone?"

The three guys shrugged as Chad made his way over to the couch to watch TV. "Hell if I know, it's your phone. Keep up with it."

Rushing back down the hall to his room, Troy dug through the pants he remembered putting on last night, pulling out his sleek iPhone. He hit the power button, springing it to life and slid the lock, entering his password as he immediately saw the flashing envelope and phone. 5 missed calls from Gabriella and 13 text messages.

"FUCK!"

Chad stood at the store with Jason and Zeke watching on amused. "You're screwed," he laughed at his friend's pain. "Good luck!"

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**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	3. Chapter 3

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_Gabriella, making yourself throw up is not a problem? What exactly do you think is?"_

"_I'm not making myself throw up! It was one time, my stomach felt weird and I barfed, get over it!"_

_Julianne's eyes darkened, grabbing Gabriella. "I will not get over it! My bulimic daughter just threw up."_

"_I'm not fucking relapsing!"_

**xx**

"_If you really cared, you would have caught on the first couple of times it happened. Instead you were too busy working to realize that I was feeling uncomfortable in my own skin."_

"_Gabriella…"_

"_Do me a favor, Mom. __Stop trying to make up for what you've done…or really haven't done and just do what you do best: live your life as if I'm not here."_

**xx**

_Troy dug through the pants he remembered putting on last night, pulling out his sleek iPhone. He hit the power button, springing it to life and slid the lock, entering his password as he immediately saw the flashing envelope and phone. 5 missed calls from Gabriella and 13 text messages._

"_FUCK!"_

_Chad stood at the store with Jason and Zeke watching on amused. "You're screwed," he laughed at his friend's pain. "Good luck!_

**Disclaimer:: Unless someone somewhere has signed over rights to me still don't own HSM nor characters involved or any quotes used. I don't own the cars mentioned in this chapter, although it would be nice if I did rather than the 1995 Toyota I'm currently driving. Once again I don't own iPhone or affiliated apple products. If I did well...let's not go there.**

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_**When you jump for joy, beware that no one moves the ground from beneath your feet.**_

_**-Stanislaw J. Lec**_

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"I see you later Tay," Gabriella spoke to her best friend, leaving East High School Monday afternoon. She started her walk over to her car when something caught her eye. The sleek black 2011 Hyundai Genesis Sedan was parked not even 10 feet from where she had stopped, the owner standing with the driver door open and sunglasses covering what she knew to be his sparkling blue orbs. His hair was blowing slightly with the breeze as he faced her direction, his eyes covered by his sunglasses, but she knew he had already spotted her.

Gabriella sighed, attempting to continue her path to her ruby red 2008 Kia Optima LX. She had decided after not hearing from her boyfriend both Friday night and Saturday morning, that she would not return his phone calls as well. She hadn't seen his name flash on her iPhone until damn near 2 Saturday afternoon, and although she desperately wanted to talk to him, to ask him why the hell he hadn't returned her calls, she wanted him to get a taste of his own medicine. She couldn't exactly ignore him now that he had showed up at her school, but she would sure as hell try.

She had gotten to the back of her car, rounded the bumper when she felt his hand grab hers, pulling them close together as he pressed her up against the back of her car. "I'm sorry," his husky voice whispered in her ears as she stood eyes closed, her bicep pressed to his chest, her hip next to the trunk of her car, one of his hands on her elbow and the other resting on the trunk, boxing her in and forcing her to face him at this point. "I'm so fucking sorry, Brie, you don't even understand."

The young Latina hadn't said anything yet, but stood, not moving from her position, not opening her eyes. "Gabriella, please talk to me," he pleaded, his stare never moving from her calm and beautiful features.

"And say what?" she spoke carefully after taking in a breath. She opened her eyes, but she made no move to look towards him. He was grateful for the sound of her voice, though. At least she was speaking to him.

"Anything, please. I'm an asshole."

"You are," she agreed quickly, still not making any motion toward him and he sighed, knowing he was going to have to make up for this big time.

"Gabriella.."

"I have to go home," she spoke, gently squeezing her frame from within his grasp. Her hand went to her bag to find her cars keys, her cascading curls falling over her face as she kept her head down, eyes locked up the keyhole in the driver's side door.

"Let me take you!" Troy offered, desperate for some kind of communication other than the hostile confrontation they were currently having.

She shook her head. "That would be stupid, my car is right here."

"Gabriella please, I just want to talk to you. I want to fix this."

"Well I don't want to talk to you!" she suddenly snapped at him, finally turning to meet his gaze. "Maybe we were wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

She shrugged, tight-lipped for a moment before biting her lip. "We're not meant to do this. You're 20, I'm 17, and I'm not even out of high school yet…"

He shook his head, making a move to get closer to her, but she shook her head in rejection. "Don't say that…"

"It's true! You're turning 21 in two weeks! You want to go out and have fun with your friends and drink and party and have one night stands with random girls that you meet and take back to your apartment at 3am! That's fine, Troy, it's wonderful, I encourage you to do it, because that's what you're meant to do. You're not supposed to be tied down, much less by someone who can't even do any of that because they still live at home with their mother. Maybe my Mom was right when she warned me about our relationship. I'm holding you back.."

"Fuck! Gabriella, stop talking like that. I don't care about any of that shit! I want to be with you!"

She shook her head, her keys shaking in her hand."But I don't want to be with you."

Gabriella could feel the pain in Troy's eyes as she stared back at him, the same pain running through her body, but she refused to let him catch on to how she really felt and how she was really reacting to the situation. Sending one last look at him, she turned and unlocked her car, getting in and locking the doors. As she cranked up the vehicle and started to back up, her vision blurry from a few tears that were starting to fall, she caught Troy's figure out of the corner of her eye. He was standing in a daze, eyes still locked pleadingly on her, standing in the same spot she had previously parked her car in, watching with depressed eyes as he could do nothing more but let her drive away.

_**-XOXO-**_

"Troy and I are over," Gabriella's voice rang out into the living room, her mother looking up startled from the laundry she was folding, not even knowing her daughter had come home.

"What?"

"Troy and I are done," she repeated, answering the question. "Are you happy now?" She turned to make her way up the stairs, but her mother wasn't going to let it go that easy.

"Excuse me?! Just wait a minute! What is that supposed to mean?" Julianne asked, somewhat angrily, offended by her daughters' tone and question. She had stood with a shirt she was folding in her hands, moving closer to the younger version of herself.

"It's what you've always wanted, ever since I started this thing with Troy. You've wanted us to fail!"

"Gabriella! I never…"

"Don't even give me that bullshit, Mom! You were against us in every way, from the first day! You hated the idea of us together…"

Julianne sighed. "I admit that I wasn't all for it at first, but in the end did you not get what you wanted. I agreed that I was okay with this relationship as long as you promised to stay honest with me."

"Oh, please. You were just waiting for this moment. I bet you can go throw yourself a little party now that we're over!"

"Gabriella Elaine Montez! You stop this right now! I never wanted this to happen, especially if it were to hurt you."

"Because you care if I feel hurt or not," Gabriella stated sarcastically.

"I'M TIRED OF THIS! I'm tired of you blaming me for every little mistake! I am your mother dammit and I love you and I demand respect from you! Just because I was a little preoccupied with work and couldn't exactly look after you on my own does not mean that I am a bad mother!"

"You're sure as hell not a good one. And you're not getting jack shit from me! If it were up to you, I'd be living every single detail of my life by your stupid rules!"

"YES! Because obviously this isn't working! I admit that I was worried at the fact that my 17 year old daughter wanted to date a 20 year old guy. I was scared and I wasn't sure how to handle it, so yes maybe I am a little happy, but I never wanted to hurt you. Have you thought that maybe this is for the best? You don't need to be dating someone that much older than you because it only leads to trouble!"

Gabriella shook her head, anger and frustration bubbling through her body as the tears streamed down her face. "FUCK YOU! If dad had never died…"

"WELL HE DID! HE'S GONE! WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT?"

"I WISH YOU HAD DIED INSTEAD! MAYBE THEN MY LIFE WOULDN'T BE SO FUCKING HORRIBLE! DAD WAS A BETTER PARENT THAN YOU EVER WILL BE!" Gabriella stormed out of the room before she could have a chance to evaluate the words she had just spoken and feel guilty.

Julianne was left standing in the living room, stunned by her daughters' statement, not sure how to feel at the hurtful words. She wasn't in control of her body when her limbs failed to hold her up and she fell the ground, shirt still in hand as the tears fell uncontrollably. This was not the way her life was supposed to pan out.

_**-XOXO-**_

"Gabriella, why don't you just look at it," Taylor asked her best friend 3 weeks later, starting to become increasingly annoyed with her. It was a Sunday afternoon in early November, Halloween having just passed four days before.

They were standing in Taylor's bathroom, where they had been for the past 15 minutes since getting home from the pharmacy while Gabriella freaked out over what they bought.

"I can't, I'm too scared."

Taylor sighed. "Do you want to find out or not?"

She shrugged. "I guess…"

Taylor instantly shot her a look that changed that statement. "I do, but…what if it's positive? Then it becomes a reality and I'm not sure how to handle that."

Taylor looked at her friend, catching the fear and pain evident in her eyes. Yesterday Taylor had received a crazy and frantic phone call from Gabriella freaking out. She'd been confused as to what was going on, but once she got her best friend to calm down and speak to her clearly she understood why she had freaked out the way she did.

Gabriella's period was late. She hadn't thought much of it the first couple of days since her period was never regular, but things became weird when she thought about the multiple times she had thrown up in the past 3 weeks. Pregnancy was the last thing that would have crossed her mind at this point, but curiosity got the best of her and she found herself looking up pregnancy symptoms online, seeing that she possessed three of the many that were listed.

Her period was officially 9 days late, she'd been experiencing random bouts of nausea, and over the past 2 weeks extreme fatigue. Of course she played it off as stress from school and of course from the breakup with Troy, but eventually her suspicions became worse and that's when Taylor came into the picture. After her frantic phone call, Gabriella found herself racing over to Taylor's house, where they both went to the pharmacy and picked up 3 pregnancy tests. The first one had come back positive, but Taylor convinced Gabriella to make sure by taking a second for confirmation and that is where they currently stood, waiting 5 minutes for the results. Those 5 minutes had been up 7 minutes ago, but Gabriella was afraid of moving over to the counter and finding out.

"Gabriella, you know that I'm here for you right?"

The olive-skinned girl let a frown take over her whole features as she stepped over to the counter, a somewhat seemingly brave demeanor cast over her as she picked up the test, bringing it closer to her eyesight to read the word _'pregnant' _on the tiny little screen. Just like the last.

"Maybe I should take another," Gabriella suggested, biting her lip and looking at Taylor, giving her friend the answer she needed to what the test said.

Taylor shrugged. "If you think you need to, but I don't think 2 tests are both going to be wrong."

Gabriella groaned, letting herself flop down onto the closed toilet seat. "What am I going to do?"

Taylor moved to kneel in front of her distressed figure, her hand rubbing her leg in sympathy. "Well I know of two things you should do first…"

Gabriella looked up through the tears that had formed in her eyes. "What?"

"Tell your Mom….and Troy."

Even though Gabriella knew that statement was coming, she couldn't help it when she felt her stomach drop. Two words came to mind.

Holy Hell.

* * *

**Author's Note: I am so glad to have my laptop back! Apparently something happened with my boot system and it had to be fixed and well, let's not talk about how much it cost me, but between that and paying for my senior trip, half of my paycheck is gone -_- I will continue to work on this story (I have a little over 11 chapters done) and I hope that you guys will continue to read and enjoy. And of course...**

**REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

_She shrugged, tight-lipped for a moment before biting her lip. "We're not meant to do this. You're 20, I'm 17, and I'm not even out of high school yet…"_

_He shook his head, making a move to get closer to her, but she shook her head in rejection. "Don't say that…"_

"_I'm holding you back.."_

"_Fuck! Gabriella, stop talking like that. I don't care about any of that shit! I want to be with you!"_

_She shook her head, her keys shaking in her hand. "But I don't want to be with you."_

_**xx**_

"_FUCK YOU! If dad had never died…"_

"_WELL HE DID! HE'S GONE! WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT?"_

"_I WISH YOU HAD DIED INSTEAD! MAYBE THEN MY LIFE WOULDN'T BE SO FUCKING HORRIBLE! DAD WAS A BETTER PARENT THAN YOU EVER WILL BE!" Gabriella stormed out of the room before she could have a chance to evaluate the words she had just spoken and feel guilty._

**xx**

_The olive-skinned girl let a frown take over her whole features as she stepped over to the counter, a somewhat seemingly brave demeanor cast over her as she picked up the test, bringing it closer to her eyesight to read the word 'pregnant' on the tiny little screen._

"_Well I know of two things you should do first…"_

_Gabriella looked up through the tears that had formed in her eyes. "What?"_

"_Tell your Mom….and Troy."_

**Disclaimer:: I don't own HSM or affiliated characters, also don't own Las Vegas or Josh Duhamel (but Fergie does!). I don't own Windows Live Messenger either, but I do take credit for the unborn baby currently in Gabriella's stomach. That does belong to me or well...whatever :D**

* * *

_**Fate is not an eagle, it creeps like a rat.**_

_** -Elizabeth Bowen**_

* * *

Chapter 4

Julianne had been working in her den office, papers piled up on the desk around her computer, her glasses hanging off her nose while she had been buried in work from her office. She sighed in frustration that the case she was working on was getting nowhere and it was only then that she noticed the quiet figure standing in the shadows of the doorway.

Gabriella didn't know how to tell her mother. After the big blow up where she had disrespected her mother, she didn't have the heart to face her or even apologize. How was she going to tell her that she was pregnant.

"Standing there isn't going to solve anything," her mother spoke, eyes trained on the young girl as she carefully took a breath and made her entrance into the room.

"I'm sorry…"

"What? You mean the daughter from hell has shown up to make an apology?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Mom, this is hard enough…"

"Hard enough? Do you realize what you said to me the other night? That was completely hurtful and inappropriate and not to mention undeserved."

"I know," the youngest started. "But I was upset and it was taking a toll on me and I…"

"You what? You realize that you need me?"

"Mom, I'm trying to be fair here."

"Be fair? I'm the one being fair! I've been being fair since your father died even though it seems like since that's happened you want nothing to do with me."

Gabriella shook her head. "That's not true. It's been hard and I'm sorry, I haven't made things any easier on you."

"You haven't! And I'm telling you right now that I'm tired of it and I won't stand it anymore because I am your mother and you disrespecting me is not what I deserve."

"And if you would shut up for one second, you could see that I'm trying to apologize for that!" Gabriella snapped, immediately recoiling after her mother sent a glare her way. "Sorry…"

Julianne sighed, glancing down at her lap and then to her daughter. "I appreciate the effort, Gabriella. I really do, but…I can't just forgive you as easily as I want to. The things you've said to me…"

"I suck, Mom, I know that. Things have been extremely shitting since Dad died, but…I've been taking you for granted and now I really need your help. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into and…and I'm…"

"You're what?"

Long deep breaths keep Gabriella from fainting. "I'm…pregnant."

_**-XOXO-**_

Melissa Grant was sitting in her apartment, a bowl of leftover Chinese food in her hands as she relaxed on her couch caught up in an old episode of _Las Vegas_. The show may have been a few years old, but Melissa would never get herself enough Josh Duhamel. That's why she owned every season on DVD so it was ready for whenever she pleased.

Mid-bite and mid swoon over Josh, there was a knock on the apartment door that left the confused 28 year old glancing at the clock on the cable box, the thought of shooting whoever the hell was at her apartment at 10:27 on a Sunday night. Sighing, she pushed her bowl aside and stood to answer the door, the figure of her niece behind it confusing her further.

"Ella? Honey, what are you doing here?" The young woman quickly moved to grip the arm of the teen, pulling her into the apartment and shutting the door, duffle bag being pulled in behind her. "You shouldn't be out at this time of night, especially not in this neighborhood."

Gabriella shrugged. "Aunt Mel, I'm 17…"

"Honestly, Gabriella. I don't mean any offense, but I don't care how old you are; there are some sick weirdoes out here."

She sighed, biting her lip and playing with her hands, which clued Melissa in to assume something was seriously wrong. "Okay, what's up? I know you wouldn't be here at 10:30 if something wasn't wrong. Not to mention, you've got that duffle bag."

A look of pure distress finally crossed Gabriella's face as a few tears that she didn't know still existed after of the crying she'd done, fell down her tan face. "Mom…m…she kicked me out."

Melissa grabbed the wrist of the young girl, making her drop her bag as she was ushered over to the couch. Gabriella sat on the couch in tears while her aunt perched herself on the edge of the coffee table directly in front of her. "Sweetheart, what's the matter? Why would she kick you out?"

"Because she hates me! She was just waiting for an excuse to get rid of me…"

"Now you stop right there! You're mother does not hate you," Melissa spoke to her sternly. "I'm not justifying anything because I know nothing, but I'm sure whatever happened between you two wasn't that bad."

The young Latina shook her head. "It's bad, Aunt Mel. I don't even want to tell you because I'm scared you'll hate me and kick me out too."

"Gabriella…I wouldn't hate you, I don't physically could, just like your mother can't. And if you need a place to stay, you already know that you have a room here all ready if need be. Just tell what's going on. I can't help if I don't know."

As the older woman pleaded with her teenage niece, the emotion was pouring from one relative's eyes to the others. Gabriella's body shook with the silent tears that overtook her and her aunt instantly moved forward to cradle the 17 year olds' fragile body in her arms. "Honey, shh! It's okay, whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

"But it…"

"Gabriella Elaine, I am promising you right here and right now, that whatever it is, I will help you! We will and we can deal with this together, okay? Just tell me, tell me everything."

Sniffling and relieved by the comforting words of her aunt, Gabriella pulled away and pulled her knees up to her chest on the couch. Melissa moved to sit next to her, arm still positioned around her as the teen took a deep breath, facing the difficult situation she had gotten herself in for the third time that day. Looking up, her chocolate brown eyes met the hazel of her aunt's and she spoke the words she was positive had already started to change her life forever:

"I'm pregnant."

_**-XOXO-**_

Exactly 12 days since that horrible Sunday when Gabriella found out she was pregnant and freaked out, her best friend at her side. 12 days since she'd revealed the news to her mother and had been kicked out. 12 days since she had started living with her Aunt Mel and honestly…it wasn't that bad.

Melissa hadn't taken the news lightly, but of course she hadn't taken it as bad as Julianne had when she found out. She'd set ground rules as a guardian, but at the same time kept her role as being the supportive friend.

Just 3 days after Gabriella showed up at her doorstep, the woman in her late 20's had come home from her job at the hospital where she worked as an on-call nurse and taken Gabriella to an appointment with her own personal gynecologist she had scheduled the day before. They'd talked openly, the three of them, about Gabriella's options as an upcoming teenage mother and possible decisions on what would be best for both mother and baby. They'd found out that she was 7 weeks along, gotten ultra-sound pictures, pre-natal vitamins, been given a due date-June 19, and a conception date, which was September 18. It had been a Tuesday; a Tuesday that Gabriella had skipped school to hang out with Troy all day. See where that got her?

Now today, November 16, Gabriella was sitting in the room she had claimed at her aunt's apartment, crossed-legged on the bed, her computer open on her lap. The screen was open to multiple programs and tab, however the tabs of homework and pregnancy related Google searches weren't catching the most of her attention at the moment, but rather an instant message conversation over Window Live Messenger with her best friend.

**McTaylor says:**

_** Hve you spoken to your mom at all since…ya know?**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** N say what to her? 'Hey, Mom. You were a bitch for kickin me out, but it's okay I'm stayin with Aunt Mel?' Not even sure she wants to see my face, much less hear my voice. She hates me.**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** Sure she dosn't hate you, plus never know if you don't try…**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** I don't even think I want to tlk to her. Who kicks out their preg 17 y/o?**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** Apparently your mom…**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** -_- gee thx**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** Sry, too soon?**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** Too soon. Sject change.**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** Gladly….soooo what bout tellin Troy?**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** When I said sject change, I meant OFF the preg topic**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** 2 bad! I'm curious. Hve you even thought bout when or how ya gonna tell him?**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** Dunno. Seems weird to tell him.**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** Cray! Y would you think tht?**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** Really Tay? **_

**McTaylor says:**

_** Sweetie, it's not tht hard. 'Troy I'm preggers!' soooo simple**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** Yeah? Then how bout you come over here and we go tell him 2gther? You can do the tlkin…**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** ….Er, no thx**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** Thought so.**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** Believe it or not, you HVE to tell him and SOON.**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** How soon is soon?**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** 7 weeks is almst 2 mths Gab. Plz before you start showin at least…**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** Tht could be up to my 4****th**** or 5****th**** mth. Dr said might not gain a lot since I'm small :D**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** You know what I mean! Seriously, tell him before you reach 4 mths plz.**_

**GabiEMz says:**

_** Can try, but makin no promises**_

**McTaylor says:**

_** All I ask**_

The sound of the apartment doorbell going off interrupted Gabriella's conversation with Taylor.

**GabiEMz says:**

_** Door, I'll call you later**_

**GabiEMz has signed off.**

Getting up off the bed and making her way into the living room that was attached to the kitchen and a small eating area, she adjusted her tank top and sweats that hung low on her body. Making it to the door, she opened it, forgetting to glance through the peephole first and came face to face with the baby daddy himself. He looked up, blue eyes catching hers as he sent a weak smile her way.

"Hey, Brie."

**Authors Note: OOOH! Cliffy! So I know things have been really crazy lately with me, but I swear I'm working on it. I'm having a little bit of personal issues that I'm trying to deal with as well as juggling school and a job and it's not easy but I'm working on it. I do get a few hours to myself everyday where I am free to type and I average a chapter or two in 2-3 hours if i'm really on a roll. I'm going to set a goal and I will strive to live by it. I want to update for you guys every sunday since that seems to be a pattern so I hope you enjoyed this chapter, REVIEW!, and I will have another update for you on 9/23! Thanks guys, so much!**

_xxTheRainWillFallxx_


	5. Chapter 5

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

_Getting up off the bed and making her way into the living room that was attached to the kitchen and a small eating area, she adjusted her tank top and sweats that hung low on her body. Making it to the door, she opened it, forgetting to glance through the peephole first and came face to face with the baby daddy himself. He looked up, blue eyes catching hers as he sent a weak smile her way._

"_Hey, Brie."_

**Disclaimer:: Don't even wonder if I own HSM yet because I still don't ): I also don't own the outfit Gabriella is wearing at the end of this chapter, BUT I did create it in a set on Polyvore - which sadly I also do not own - because it is an awesome website. **

**The link to Gabriella's outfit will be in my profile under Age Appropriate. It will be the first one underneath my personal info and my little updated rant.**

* * *

_**This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.**_

_** -T.S. Eliot**_

* * *

Chapter 5

"Uhh…wait, what are you doing here?" Gabriella stumbled over her words, still a bit shocked by his presence.

"Can I come in? We should talk," he asked, standing awkwardly, hands in his pockets.

"NO!" And run the risk of her aunt coming home? Or him seeing one of the thousands of papers the two women in the apartment had lying around about pregnancy. "I mean," she leaned behind her to grab her shoes and a zip up sweatshirt. "Let's go for a walk or something."

Raising an eyebrow, Troy questioned her strange behavior, but only for less than a second before he nodded and backed up, letting her step out of the apartment and lock the door behind her with a key. They walked out of the building in silence, down to the streets which were dimly lit with the streetlights and with headlights from traffic every so often.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she asked, unsure of what was to come. What if he already knew? He was surprisingly calm about it if he did.

"I went over to your house to talk to you about what happened," he started, her heartbeat speeding up. He'd been to her home...well not hers anymore, but he'd probably spoken to her mother. "Imagine my surprise when your mom told me that you no longer live there. What's that about?"

Gabriella shrugged, slightly relieved, but also worried that he hadn't revealed whether he knew or not yet. "We've always had problems…"

"Never this bad," he commented. "She mentioned you guys had an argument. She said you said some hurtful things and as a result she told you to leave?"

"Guilty" she breathed, not meeting what she knew were his curious eyes stuck on her face.

"She also said that she hadn't spoken to your for like 2 weeks, but if she had to make a guess on where you would be, it was here or Taylor's."

"Why didn't you try Taylor's?"

Troy shrugged. "I figured if it was that bad, you'd want to be with someone really close and I know you and your Aunt Mel are like this," he said, crossing his fingers with a small smile in her direction.

"Oh."

The sigh that came out of his mouth wasn't normal at all. He clearly knew something was up. "Seriously Gabriella, what's wrong?"

She shrugged, kicking a rock that was by her foot. "A lot of stuff is wrong right now, Troy."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that my mother kicked me out and I'm living with my aunt, how my best friend and my aunt are pretty much the only people in this world I can depend on right now, how…" she stopped, looking over to meet the gaze of the blue orbs currently on her. "How I can't seem to stop thinking about this one guy, yet I'm sure he's not that concerned about me."

He didn't say anything for a few moments, but after thinking it over he opened his mouth, spilling out words. "I'm sure whatever happened with you and your mom, you guys will fix it; we may not be…together, but I will always be here for you, and…well this is going to sound stupid if we're not talking about the same guy, but I'm pretty damn sure he can't stop thinking about you either. If he weren't concerned about you, he wouldn't be standing in front of you wondering what the hell is happening and trying his hardest to fix it."

Gabriella stared up into the baby blues that were his eyes and felt her stomach twist up in knots and her heart pounding in her chest, instantly feeling the sincerity burning from his orbs to her own. His emotion and honesty was going to make this even harder to reveal. She was going to ruin his life. "Troy, I…"

"I need you to tell me what's going on with you," he pleaded with her.

She shook her head, but he grabbed her arms, pulling her to him. They were barely inches apart, his hands gripping at her elbows while her hands held onto the sides of his jacket. "Forget that we're not together, forget everything that's happened. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere Brie. Tell me what's going on, please."

The young brunette female looked down to the space in between them before using her grip on his jacket to pull her closer, pressing her face into his chest. She felt his hands come up from her arms, one hand curling around her back and the other tangling in her hair as he kissed the top of her head. "Tell me," he pleaded again with her, his lips resting on her temple.

Tears gathered up in Gabriella's eyes, quickly spilling over the bottoms of her lids as she tried to blink them away, pressing closer into his body. She moved her head to rest near his shoulder, her lips near his chin, not far from his ear. "I'm pregnant," she whispered, eyes closing immediately as she tensed up expecting a not so great reaction from him.

Feelings his hands drop and his head moving away from hers, she looked up to meet his shocked features. "What?"

She shook her head, her hands reaching to pull him back to her, but he stood his place, keeping his distance. "I didn't want to upset you, but I knew I had to tell you and I know that this isn't the right time and you probably hate me but I needed to make sure you…"

He stopped her, his hand held out, interrupting her rant of excuses. "Wait…you're…pregnant? That's…that's not possible. We…I…no, are you sure?"

She nodded, not wanting to say anything else, watching as he took it all in. She watched his eyes drop to her stomach and then back up to her, worry laced in his eyes. "Is it…mine?"

Feeling a slight flash of anger, Gabriella looked down, understanding why he asked the question since they hadn't been together in over a month, but the hurt she couldn't hide.

"I didn't…"Troy grabbed her face, tilting her chin up for her to look at him. "I didn't mean it like that…I just…you're sure?"

She nodded. "8 weeks now…well, in two days. The doctor said the date puts us back…that Tuesday I skipped school…it all adds up…I don't…"

She watched him turn away from her frustrated, running his hand through his hair as he stared off into the early afternoon sky. "I'm so sorry, Troy. I never meant to ruin everything…"

Troy turned his head back to her so fast, she was surprised he didn't get whiplash. "What?! Sorry for what? Gabriella, I'm…I would never blame you. This isn't…it's your fault. At least not alone."

She shrugged. "But I'm ruining your life!"

"Says who?" He asked, grabbing her hand. "You're not ruining my life, you're not ruining anything. Gabriella…this is hard to hear and I can't even imagine how you felt when you first found out, but…I'm not going anywhere. I'm with you until the end no matter what the status of our relationship. We will deal with this together, I promise."

The Latina quickly, turned her head to the side, trying to control the tears by willing them down to a minimum drippage. "The last time I heard that phrase, it was from my mother and then she kicked me out…"

He shook his head, dipping down to meet her gaze, making her focus her attention on him before he spoke. "I'm not your mom. I'm not planning to abandon you because I want to be there all the way. If this is my baby, then I'm not going anywhere. I won't…I won't be like my dad and I'm making this promise to you with every bone in my body." His hand dropped to her waist, pulling her into him, his lips pressing to her forehead as she fell into his body in a hug. "I will always be here."

And as they embraced on the sidewalk as the sun set, Gabriella could only hope that she could trust him to stick to his word because now was when she needed him the most.

_**-XOXO-**_

**Gabriella's POV**

The next few weeks had been strangely okay, but weird at the same time. To say that I had underestimated Troy was an understatement; I was actually surprised by the commitment he was making. I guess it's true when they say guys really man up when there's another human life involved, specifically their child. It was nearly Christmas and since sharing the news with Troy that week before Thanksgiving break, he'd been extremely supportive of me. Honestly, it was kind of annoying seeing him every day. Of course, I still wanted to be with him, but with our current situation, we hadn't really seen a romantic relationship taking precedence over the future of our child, so we hadn't talked about it, but rather kept things at a platonic level.

Troy had been so enthusiastic in the days following my confession. I had been expecting him to be wary towards the situation, but he was the complete opposite. He'd been over the moon about coming to my next ultrasound and was already talking about getting pictures and videos to show his roommates. I could probably go as far as to say that he might be excited about the thought of having a child, but who knows exactly how he feels. I don't even know how I feel, much less what's going through his head. I was just glad to have another person to add to my already little support system.

On this particular day in Albuquerque, it was surprisingly cold, even for December and I was standing at my locker dressed appropriately for the weather. I had on black skinny jeans, a sleeveless brown tank top, a cream tie around the waist that matched the knit cardigan I had thrown on over it. I did my makeup light of course, because it was all I could stand these days with me throwing up left and right and wore my flower petal studs in my ear, my cream colored bag hanging off my arm as I stood on my tippy toes, unfortunately digging into my top locker. Why I have a top locker, I have yet to understand, but I was making do.

"Good morning sunshine," came the cheery voice of her best friend as she approached on the girl's left side, hidden slightly by the locker door.

I looked at her happy face and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What's with you?"

The dark skinned girl shrugged, the grin still plastered on her face as she stood, hangs linked behind her back as she bounced happily on her ballet flats. "Oh…nothing."

I could see the excitement she was bursting to let out and rolled my eyes, shutting my locker to give Taylor my full attention. "What did he do now," I asked knowingly of Taylor's 'friend'.

If it was possible that the smile on her face got wider, then it did as she grabbed onto my shoulders, startling me for a second before I regained my composure. "He asked me to PROM! Can you believe it?"

I was happy for her, I was, but…things with her and Alex just left me thoroughly confused. "But…prom's not until April…"

She shook her head. "I know, but wasn't it so sweet of him to ask? Now I've got like 4 months to prepare myself."

"Uhm…sweet."

Taylor's face fell and I knew I had been caught. I guess my answer had not been that well covered up. "What is with you? You're not even the least bit excited for me."

"It's not that I'm not excited for you Tay…"

Suddenly her eyes went wide. "Wait, is it pregnancy hormones?"

"NO!" I shut that idea down before she even had a chance to let it progress onto bigger and crazier ideas. "I just…what are you and Alex anyway? He takes you out on dates and spends all this money on you and asks you to prom, but he can't officially make you his girlfriend?"

Taylor shrugged. "It's complicated…"

"Complicated? Taylor, you've been talking to this guy since the summer. It's Christmas. If you guys don't want to date, then say so, but stop beating around the bush." It was then that we walked out of the school building into the cold air, having heard the last warning bell ringing, letting everyone know they should be where they needed to be for the afternoon as far as extracurricular and tutoring.

"I want to, Gabi, believe me I've been dropping hints left and right, but he's just…he's not the type," she responded as we got into her car, heading towards my Aunt's apartment.

"Not the type to have a girlfriend?"

Taylor nodded, biting her lip. "Then I guess he's not your type, because you are the type of girl who wants a boyfriend and a committed relationship. You do realize he has the freedom to run around with any girl he wants to and you're pretty much giving him permission to and saying your okay with it because you've accepted the fact that he hasn't asked you to be his girlfriend, right?"

"Not until now, thanks Gab."

I shrugged. "I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, here, but I'm trying to be realistic. I'm also trying to look out for you. What if he changes his mind about prom? Or decides that he wants to go with another…"

"Please!" She stopped me before I could go on. "I'll handle things with Alex and I'll deal with that stuff as it presents itself. You shouldn't be worried about my boy problems anyway; you've got enough on your plate right now."

I sighed, looking out the window, noticing that we were about five minutes from the apartment complex. "Don't remind me," I stated simply, hoping she'd drop the subject.

But of course Taylor's my best friend and I know she's not the type to just forget about things easily. I should have known that. "Seriously, you can't avoid it forever."

"I'm not avoiding it; I just don't want to talk about it. I talk about it enough with Aunt Mel and Troy. Sometimes I just want to get away from it all."

"Well obviously you can't get away from it. Have you two made any major decisions?"

I shrugged as she pulled up into the parking garage located next to the building and we both got out. "He came to my appointment last week and I don't know…we talked about keeping it. It was the first thing the doctor mentioned because after 16 weeks I can't…you know."

Taylor only nodded as we walked up the path. "Other than that, it's like…things are slightly awkward. It's not like I was expecting things to go back to normal, but with me getting used to my new surroundings and settling in here and him still juggling work and classes, we haven't really made any big decisions yet."

As we stepped into the building, we caught the elevator just as it was about to close and Taylor nudged me to get my attention, whispering since there was a woman standing in the elevator with us. "Well, you know you should really get on that, right? Nine months isn't going to go by slow."

I nodded. "I know, it's just…like you said before I'd rather deal with things as they present themselves. Everything's pilling up and I can only take so much at once."

We got off before the woman, Taylor smiling politely at her while I dug in my bag for the key. "I get that and I can even begin to know what you'd have to deal with, but you can't wait until the last minute."

"I'm not going to wait until the last minute," I defended, opening the door and leading her in. "I just want to put it off as long as possible," I said with a weak smile as she sent me a glare.

Aunt Mel appeared in the small foyer, with an expectantly smile on her face. "I hope you're having a good day."

I glanced over at Taylor who looked just as confused by the statement as I did. "Why? What did you do?"

She smiled nervously. "Nothing, just invited a few friends over…"

"Friends?" I questioned, getting a feeling she was playing down whatever it is that was going on.

"Mhmm," she nodded, lips close tight into a smile. She backed up slightly into her living room, making me follow her out of curiosity, Taylor close behind.

"Aunt Mel," I started before I entered through the walkway, the back of two heads coming into view along with the face of another across from them. The face was unmistakable as he looked up at me, the look on his face telling me he'd been expecting me and was concerned about my reaction.

"Brie…" But Troy didn't get the chance to finish as he stood up to make his way over to me and the two heads of the figures on the couch turned in my direction, my mouth opening wide with the realization that Troy's parents were situated in my Aunt's living room.

"Oh God."

**Author's Note: Another cliffy! Sorry I mean to have this posted earlier, but I got caught up and then I had to go to work, and I literally got home 20 minutes ago, ate some dinner and then realized I had yet to updated. So I hope you liked it and uhm for anyone who hasn't already, go see The House At The End of The Street aka HATES with Jennifer Lawrence and that hot/weird guy that's always in all the really good horror/thriller movies. I enjoyed it along with End of Watch which I also saw this weekend too (I had a lot of free time - used some of it to write 2 chapters too). So enough of my rant. REVIEW! And I will see you here again on 9/30 for another updated (:**

_xxTheRainWillFallxx_


	6. Chapter 6

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_Brie…" But Troy didn't get the chance to finish as he stood up to make his way over to me and the two heads of the figures on the couch turned in my direction, my mouth opening wide with the realization that Troy's parents were situated in my Aunt's living room._

"_Oh God."_

**Dislaimer:: I don't own High School Musical or its affiliated characters, but trust me if I did own it or Troy's Mom (the version I wrote in this story) I'd make HSM a TV series and kill her off in the pilot (:**

**Authors' Note: I almost forgot to update this I swear! I came home from work, finished off the rest of my homework and studied a bit for my Spanish and English tests tomorrow and then I logged off and layed down to read my book and then BAM! I remembered I never updated. So thanks to my memory for reminding me to update before I fell asleep. Hope you enjoy the chapter and don't forget to REVIEW! Until the next update! (10/7/12)**

* * *

_**And for all our inventions in matters of love loss, we've no recourse at all.**_

_** -The Shins**_

* * *

Chapter 6

Now don't get me wrong, I've met Troy's parents before, of course when we first started dating and my Mom was super nervous about the age difference and invited both his parents and him over for dinner to talk it out before she gave her approval, and they're not bad at all. To be honest, I actually like them, but I'm not sure how they're gonna feel about me being impregnated by their son. We might have gotten along pretty well and the feeling of fondness might be mutual, but I'm not sure how long that's gonna last in this situation.

"Uhm…hi?" I said as more of a question as I looked from Troy to his parents and then over to my Aunt.

She smiled. "I figured, we'd have Troy and his parents and talk out the whole situation."

I felt Taylor nod beside me. "And that's a great idea, Ms. Grant. I know I'm no longer needed, so I'll just go on home now…"

I turned, gripping Taylor's elbow and turning my head to her, wide eyed as my aunt started a conversation with Troy's parents. "Don't you dare leave me," I murmured to her through my teeth.

"Gabi, you'll be fine," she whispered back, squeezing my hand.

I shook my head. "No, Tay. I need you here."

"Troy's here."

"And his parents too, in case you haven't noticed. Taylor, please!"

She sighed, rolling her eyes and giving up. "Fine, but if I miss Pretty Little Liars, I'm kicking your ass."

I could feel the smile growing with my relief. "I'm recording it so feel free to stay and watch it."

"I _will_ be taking you up on that offer," she assured before walking away behind Aunt Mel who was ushering Troy's parents into the dining area to the table. It was then that she noticed Troy had still been standing behind her.

"Did you know about this?" I asked, staring up into his stressed face.

He shook his head. "I uh…my parents were visiting when your aunt called. I was in the bathroom and my mother felt free to just pick up my cell phone, which I wasn't even sure how your aunt got the number anyway?"

I looked away. "I gave it to her as a just in case type of thing. I figured since we'd started talking and we were figuring it out together that we might be hanging out a lot and…"

"It's okay," he cut me off with a smile, his arm resting on my hip as his thumb caressed across my hip bone. "I'm not upset, it makes sense. This is just…" he looked toward the dining room where was aunt was trying to awkwardly entertain his parents but I could tell there was tension. She looked over at us with a look that could kill. "It's weird and I can tell it'll be a long night."

I nodded, understanding my aunts' angry facial message she was sending and tugged on Troy's shirt as I started in the dining room. "Yeah, but let's go before she pops a blood vessel. Then she'll be complaining about being too young for it later."

He laughed, his hand never leaving my hip as we went to face the music.

**-XOXO-**

Only twenty minutes into dinner and everyone was already pretty silent. The 6 people at the table had been picking at their food since they sat down to eat, conversation pretty much nonexistent.

Suddenly Melissa stood up, grabbing the bowl of pasta that sat in the middle of the table. "So…who wants more pasta?"

There was a cough from the direction of Troy's mother as she put down her fork. "Melissa, I think we all know why we're here, so maybe we should stop avoiding the subject and talk about that."

The woman who had previously been stalling, placed the bowl back on the stable and glanced down at her niece, who was sitting twirling pasta on her fork as she stared at her plate. "Right, uhm…"

Lucille Bolton glanced at her husband Jack and he looked back at her with a look that told her she would be doing the starting of this conversation and she sighed. "Okay, well obviously the issue at hand needs to be solved…"

"It's already being taken care of Mom," Troy tried to calm her, but she shook her head.

"By whom?" she asked him, an eyebrow raised as Jack sighed, knowing this was not off to a good start. Gabriella sat silently on the other side of Troy, in between him and Taylor, watching the interaction.

"By me – by us, who else?"

She nodded. "Right, because you two are capable of taking care of this all by yourselves?"

His jaw tensed as he put down his fork but continued to stare at his plate. "We're supporting each other, we're in this together!"

There was a sarcastic laugh from her mouth seconds after hearing his statement. "Oh, because that puts me at ease. And just how is that going to work out with you living in an apartment with 3 other guys, paying rent, working, going to school, and soon to be paying off student loans? Do you have any idea how hard this is going to be? Have you two even decided if you're together or not? At this point I'm confused…"

Gabriella's hand immediately reached to grab Troy's, squeezing it while resting their hands on his thigh; attempting to calm him down before he got too worked up. Melissa didn't give him the chance to.

"With all due respect, Lucille, I think they're on a pretty good path. She's not even four months along yet and yes they might still be figuring it out, but Troy just found out…"

"And whose fault is that?" she asked, looking over to Gabriella, her head dropping at the accusation.

"Gabriella's not at fault here. She's 17, she was scared, and honestly she tried to make the best decision she knew to make at the time."

"That's exactly the problem, she's 17…"

"Lucille," Jack went to stop his wife but she shushed him quickly with her hand.

"What do you mean that's the problem?"

The older woman sighed. "Have you processed what this will do? How much this will complicate? Not only is Gabriella's life pretty much in the dumpster, but now Troy's. She's not even done with high school and neither he with college. They won't know how to support a baby even if they plan to do it together, which might I add, they don't even know that yet. Where's the baby going to live? What does Gabriella intend to do about college? And not to mention this is the first time you're even meeting my son…"

"It will all be figured out!" Melissa responded firmly. "Give them a chance!"

"A chance? I did that when Troy called me shortly after his 20th birthday to tell me he'd met a girl. And then when I came to meet her only to find out she was 16 soon to be 17. I gave them a chance when they both pleaded about wanting to be together and then we all sat down with her mother as well to talk about the relationship. They had the chance and obviously it was abused."

"It's not we did it on purpose," Gabriella tried to defend, but Melissa had other plans.

"Ella, please. Lucille, I am trying my hardest here. Gabriella made a mistake – Gabriella _and _Troy made a mistake together. And I understand that everyone makes mistakes because I've made many in my lifetime that I'm not proud of and it's not even over yet. But everyone's entitled to a mistake or 10, it doesn't matter, but they shouldn't be punished like you think."

"I…"

"I'm not done," Melissa stopped her, catching the eyes of everyone sitting at the table. "I may not her mother and I may not be old enough to have a teen of my own, but it wasn't too long ago that I was once was and making plenty of big mistakes of my own. I did a lot in high school that I'm not proud of, but Gabriella, she's achieved so much more than I ever did and the fact that she's owned up to this mistake and she's handling it with every inch of pride that she has makes me have so much respect from her. So while you may not think this is the best thing for them, I think it's a learning experience. And if you're not willing to try and help them or at least give them moral support, then you're not welcome in my home."

There was a stunning silence that fell over the table as Melissa stood and grabbed the pasta bowl, stomping away into the kitchen without another word. Taylor, feeling awkward and out of place, stood as well, reaching her hand out to grasp Gabriella's. "I've got to get home," she whispered to her friend apologetically. "But call me tonight okay?"

The Latina nodded, feeling the squeeze of her hand before her best friend disappeared with a silent close of the front door. Following another long silence where it appeared her aunt was not going to reappear anytime soon, she excused herself to the kitchen as well, leaving the Bolton's to themselves at the table.

"Well," Lucille started with a clearing of her throat. "That was certainly not what I expected when we first planned to come over."

Jack chose not to speak as Troy glanced over at his mother incredulously. "Are you serious right now Mom?"

The only female in the room snapped her head around to face her son. "What?"

"What? Do you not hear yourself when you speak?"

"Excuse me?"

"The things you say, the way you act. Why was any of that necessary?"

Lucille smiled. "That was not my intention. She just misread my words and got upset. I can't help the way she feels."

"What about the way I feel? Or about how Gabriella feels?"

"Gabriella is not of my concern. She is not my child and the only relation she could possibly have to me is being the mother of my grandchild. And the future of that child still unsure because of the immaturity of its parents…"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Troy asking, pushing his chair away as he stood.

"Troy, that is still your mother," Jack warned, but his son wasn't having it.

"Are you sure? It looks like her and it sounds like her but she's sure as hell not acting like my mother. My mother wouldn't have said all the shit she just said and insulted the girl I love."

Lucille rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Love? I don't even understand how you can say that, she's 17 for Christ sake…"

"And what does that have to do with me loving her? Age is just a number and honestly I could care less how old she is."

"You can't mean that. Believe me, if she wasn't pregnant…"

"If she wasn't pregnant I wouldn't have realized it! Everything that's happened in the past month between has made me realize what I'm missing out on. I love her Mom, and if you can't handle that then I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how much I want you involved."

The older woman swallowed the words she was attempting to speak and glanced at her husband who had his head focused on the table. She stood. "If that's how you feel, then I guess I'll just be going. Tell Melissa I'm sorry that things panned out the way they did and as for you and Gabriella, I hope that I'm wrong about things working out, although I doubt it very seriously."

Troy watched silently as the woman who birthed him gathered her things before seeing herself out of the apartment door. His father walked over to him, still silent, clasping a hand to his shoulder. "I have faith in you son and I've learned to trust your decisions, both good and bad, so I hope things work out."

When his father disappeared behind his mother, Troy made his way to the kitchen finding Gabriella standing silently next to the sink as Melissa scrubbed at some plates angrily, mutters escaping from her mouth every few seconds as her niece stood not knowing how to react.

When she turned, she caught Troy out of the corner of her eye and sighed, turning off the water. "I'll be in my room. I trust you can handle the dishes?"

Gabriella nodded quietly, sending a weak smile in her aunt's direction before turning to face Troy as she scurried out of the kitchen.

"Not what we expected huh?" Troy asked, trying to joke, but he could see that Gabriella wasn't in that type of mood.

"Your mother hates me…"

He laughed. "And at the moment, I'd say she probably hates me too."

"Troy, this is serious. What are we going to do? You know she was 100% right about everything. We have no plan and no clue what to do. We're going to fail miserably at this and I don't…"

"Need to worry," he finished for her, grabbing her hands and bringing her body closer to his. "I don't care what anyone says, including my mother, we will get through this. I'm making this promise to right here and right now on everything I am, that it will be okay. Can you hold out for me? I need to know that you trust me and you have faith in this, in us. Are you in this for the long run?"

She nodded, pressing her head to his chest, burying her face in his t-shirt. "Of course I'm in this and of course I trust you."

"Good," he answered, dropping a kiss to the top of her head, the words he wanted to say sitting on the tip of his tongue, but he hesitation on whether or not it would be a good time to say them.

"Troy?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad it's you. I'm glad it's with you and I glad I have you here. It may not be the ideal situation, but I'm happy you're here to make it at least a little bit better."

"And I'll always be here."


	7. Chapter 7

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

_And if you're not willing to try and help them or at least give them moral support, then you're not welcome in my home."_

_There was a stunning silence that fell over the table as Melissa stood and grabbed the pasta bowl, stomping away into the kitchen without another word._

**xx**

"_You can't mean that. Believe me, if she wasn't pregnant…"_

"_If she wasn't pregnant I wouldn't have realized it! Everything that's happened in the past month between has made me realize what I'm missing out on. I love her Mom, and if you can't handle that then I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how much I want you involved."_

**xx**

"_I'm glad it's you. I'm glad it's with you and I glad I have you here. It may not be the ideal situation, but I'm happy you're here to make it at least a little bit better."_

"_And I'll always be here."_

**Disclaimer:: I don't own Christmas! Nor do I own HSM or characters so it's not like it came as a surprise really. I do however own the idea involving the court system in this chapter and I apologize if it's wrong because it's been a while since I studied that stuff in that one class I took and I was too lazy to look it up. Oops. Well enjoy!**

* * *

_**But why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?**_

_** -Taylor Swift**_

* * *

Chapter 7

Christmas Eve. It was pretty much the best day on the planet aside from Christmas day itself. It was to be filled with holiday cheer and families spending time together, the one day of the year where everyone was more focused on the spirit of the holidays more than they were anything else. It was supposed to be a time of complete and utter happiness among all.

But for Gabriella Montez, this day was turning out to be just as worse as the rest of her days.

"I can't believe she's doing this!" the teen exclaimed, eyes red from the tears that had been shed, hair tangled and tossed to the point that she didn't even care, bagging sweatpants practically falling off her body as well as the t-shirt she was wearing. She looked a complete and total mess, but it wasn't nearly as important as the issue at hand.

"She's not thinking clearly," Melissa spoke in an attempt to calm her niece. "She's just upset."

"Upset? Upset was a few weeks ago at dinner. Upset is her not liking me at all. This? This is pure evil."

Taylor sighed, sitting across from her best friend with worry. "You can fight it though right?"

"Of course she can," Melissa answered.

"I shouldn't have to though. Why would she do this?"

"Bitter maybe," Taylor suggested, grabbing the paper from the table and reading over it again. "She's actually serious about this, it's crazy."

Gabriella's hands came up to her face as the frustration bubbled up. "She wants to make my life a living hell! Does she not realize this hurts him too?"

Taylor shrugged. "At this point, I'm not sure she cares."

"She should!" Gabriella got loud. "This is her son and her grandchild, why would she…UGH!"

"Gabriella, calm down. We can fight this. We know the truth; the reality of the situation…"

"But that doesn't change anything! And the fact that she's getting my mother as her lawyer makes things even worse."

"Why is your mom even agreeing to this?"

"Because she also hates my fucking guts, remember? Didn't you get the memo?"

"Gabriella," Melissa tried, but the teen was in no mood to hear it. She moved away from the table, going to curl up in a ball alone on the couch as Taylor and her aunt watched her miserably, not knowing how to lighten the situation. Not like the situation had any aspects of it to be lightened anyway.

Melissa grabbed the court order in anger, crumpling it into a ball and wordlessly tossing it into the trashcan.

That's right court order. Someway, somehow, Lucille Bolton had come up with the worst possible way to make the current situation even worse. She'd filed a court order against both Troy and Gabriella concerning the teenage girls' pregnancy. According to her and the paper, she'd brought up the fact that at the time of conception, Gabriella was and still is only 17, making her a minor. And by state law of Albuquerque, New Mexico and pretty much everywhere in the United States, it was illegal for a minor to be having sexual relations with a person over the age of 18 and with a baby now in the situation, Lucille was fighting for a restraining order that would separate Troy and Gabriella from ever speaking again. If that wasn't the worst part, depending on how far the woman was willing to keep up her fight, it would also convict Troy of sexual harassment, putting him in jail and possibly placing the unborn child in the hands of Child Services with her claim of Gabriella being in an unfit position to take care of it.

Melissa had to give it to the woman. When she'd left her apartment earlier in the month, she'd never expected to hear from nor see her again. Nor did she expect Lucille to file a court order that could possibly ruin her son's life. She knew the woman was crazy, but she would have never figured her for a psychopathic woman that didn't stop until she got what she wanted. Now she knew better. This woman would stop at nothing once she set her mind to it and that included using the mother of her son's baby mother to get it.

There was a knock on the door and when Gabriella made no move to answer it, Melissa did, opening the door to see the offspring of the woman who'd become the topic of their recent frustration. A look of frustration also on his face.

"Hey, Troy."

"Gabi home?"

Without another word, she moved out of the way, letting him see the girl he was asking for in the ball she curled herself up into. Instantly, his feet were on the move and in seconds he was kneeling on the floor in front of her. "Gabriella." When there was no answer, he moved his hand to her knee, stroking it. "Hey, talk to me. I know what's going on and I've spoken to my Mom, but I don't need you shutting down on me."

Blinking and then glancing down at him, she caused more tears to escape and fall down her face. "I…I hate her. I know she's your mom and she probably means everything to you but I hate her for this."

He moved onto the couch next to her, molding his body into hers as he let her cry. "Shh! It's okay baby, I know, I hate it too…"

"No! I hate her! She's ruining everything!"

"Brie, in case you haven't noticed, nothing was 100% wonderful to begin with anyway."

"Whose side are you on?" She snapped, making him grab her hand to soothe her.

"I'm not on a side, because there are no sides to me, but I know that she's just making things worse and I'm going to fix it, but I need you to be here with me every step. I know this is going to be hard and I know that this is going to make things much worse that they should be, but that just gives you more of a reason to be strong. I need you to fight this with me, not break down when it gets tough. I need to know that you're up for this, that you're ready and you know you can do this."

Wiping her cheeks, she looked to meet the sincere blue eyes staring back at her. "But how do I know…"

"Trust me," he answered, pushing some stray hair behind her ear. "If I know, then you will too. I know you can do this and that you're stronger than you think, but I just need to hear you say that you can or at least that you're willing to try."

She nodded. "I am, I just…I don't want to lose you."

"I'm not going anywhere, Gabriella. I'm promised you that how many times since I found out, and I'm still here! You have to trust me when I say that nothing is going to take me away. I'm here for you."

She sniffled and wiped her face with the t-shirt she was wearing. "I hate feeling like this."

"Like what?"

"Helpless and stupid and that if we had been just a little more careful…"

"Hey! Now is not the time to think about what could have been. We are where we are and we just have to deal. There's no going back, we just have to make the best of what is now."

A mere nod came from Gabriella and Troy pressed his lips to her forehead as she leaned her body into his. "And making the best of it means we have to start planning and preparing. We're going to be ready for this okay?"

Gabriella moved her head to stare up at him, biting her lip. "You…you said you spoke to your Mom?"

He nodded. "I got a letter too; she had it sent to both of us. I went over there this morning to talk to her and pretty much shut me out. She said if my decision was to back you up on yours then she didn't have any other choice but to take legal action. She claims she doesn't want you and the baby ruining my life…"

Melissa, who neither had realized was still standing there, spoke up instantly. "So instead she'd rather be the one to ruin your future? Does she realize exactly what this case entails? She's trying to make you go to jail for statutory rape! How hell does she think she's helping you?!"

Troy shrugged, his hands gently messaging Gabriella's arm and back. "I don't know, but to be honest, my mother's not my number one priority right now," he stopped, looking down at the girl in his arms. "Gabriella is."

**-XOXO-**

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Gabriella smiled at the warm welcome from Chad, Zeke, and Jason as they all gathered together to celebrate the next day. In light of the recent events, Troy thought it would be a good idea to get Gabriella and Melissa to come over and have Christmas with them instead of just spending it the two of them. Of course, prior to bringing them over, he'd made sure the guys were completely filled in and aware of what was going on and how they should behave. Now all they had to do was hope for a great holiday.

"Look here, it's our favorite cook back to share the wealth!" Chad exclaimed, wrapping Gabriella in a hug as Zeke glared from the other side of her.

"Thanks Chad, remind me never to cook steak for you again," Zeke rebutted, hugging Gabriella after he did, making his roommate roll his eyes at the threat.

After being hugged by Jason as well, Gabriella grabbed Melissa's arm, introducing her to the roommates before Zeke and Jason went back to watching the parade. Melissa joined them on the armchair, quickly jumping into conversation with the two about the performances as well as the floats that were involved.

Troy and Chad slipped into the kitchen to talk, not aware that Gabriella had followed, stopping just beyond the kitchen entrance, hidden just enough to not be seen as she heard the conversation they were having about her.

"I can't believe it man. My best friend's having a baby!"

Gabriella could see Troy nodding, grabbing two beers from the fridge and tossing one to Chad. "Yeah, well believe it."

"Who would have thought!"

Troy shrugged, a small smile on his face at the thought of the girl he was currently entranced by.

"Seriously though, your mom's gone off the rocker a little bit."

"My mom….I've kind of lost all respect for her now."

"Why's she doing it?"

"Who knows, but right now she's what's important."

Chad smiled, understanding without words what Troy was insinuating. "Yeah, well it's wonderful what you did for her today."

Gabriella peeked around the corner again to see Troy grinning. "Well, she's worth, you know."

"Really? You think she's the one?"

Troy was silent for a few seconds and Gabriella saw the thoughtful look on his face. "I think she is. She's so different and special and although we're in this fucked up situation, I just…is it weird to say I wouldn't want to be in it with anyone but her?"

"Nah, man. You're not weird, but you might be in love."

There was a laugh from Troy. "I know I'm in love. Took me a while to figure it out, but when it comes down to it, I know I'll do anything for her. And if that's not being in love with her and her being the one, then I don't know what is."

"So now you're whipped," Chad stated. "Just what I always wanted in a roommate."

Troy chuckled. "Guess I am, but…I like it. I like her…I love her actually."

"This is a good luck for you Bolton. The smile on your face says it all."

"Shut up."

"No, I'm serious. I'm happy for you man, I'm glad you've got her."

"I'm glad he's got me too," Gabriella said walking into the kitchen so that she was visible. "I'm glad I've got him as well." And at that, she walked over, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her body to his, his hands immediately wrapping around her body as well, neither of them noticing that Chad had slowly backed out of the kitchen.

It wasn't like either of them cared, either.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I apologize if the idea of them going to court seems lame or stupid or not well put together but I needed to put some kind of drama in as a filler for some upcoming chapters and yeah, that's pretty much all I could think of. Anyway, back to finish up some more writing before I retire to bed for good for the night. REVIEW! and I'll see you again with another update soon. Until 10/14/12 (:**


	8. Chapter 8

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

_According to her and the paper, she'd brought up the fact that at the time of conception, Gabriella was and still is only 17, making her a minor. And by state law of Albuquerque, New Mexico and pretty much everywhere in the United States, it was illegal for a minor to be having sexual relations with a person over the age of 18 and with a baby now in the situation, Lucille was fighting for a restraining order that would separate Troy and Gabriella from ever speaking again._

**xx**

_Troy shrugged, his hands gently messaging Gabriella's arm and back. "I don't know, but to be honest, my mother's not my number one priority right now," he stopped, looking down at the girl in his arms. "Gabriella is."_

**xx**

"_Guess I am, but…I like it. I like her…I love her actually."_

**xx**

"_I'm glad he's got me too," Gabriella said walking into the kitchen so that she was visible. "I'm glad I've got him as well."_

**Disclaimer:: I don't own HSM, affiliated characters or Home Alone for that matter. I also don't own the Matt Groening quote below, but kind of wish I did...**

* * *

_**God often gives nuts to toothless people.**_

_** -Matt Groening**_

* * *

Chapter 8

Later that night, the six people currently inhabiting the apartment were sitting around in the living room, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York playing on the big television directly in front of the couch, the six having already watched the first movie.

Melissa sat on the loveseat, Chad lying on the floor at her feet with Zeke and Jason taking up two thirds of the couch and Troy and Gabriella squeezed together occupying the last third. The two sat comfortably together nonetheless, with Troy against the arm of the chair, his body curved and turned sideways molded perfectly into Gabriella's as she sat beside him, her body pressed to his chest, her head on his shoulder and his arm around hers.

They were having a great time ending out the night perfectly with the hilarious Christmas movie, but something from earlier was still bothering Troy.

"Brie?" Gabriella looked away from the movie, lifting her head to see the cerulean eyes looking down on her curiously and dropped her gaze, playing with the hem of his shirt, wondering what the look on his face meant. "Can you…answer something honestly for me?"

She nodded, giving him a gesture to go on. "Earlier…when I was in the kitchen with Chad," he started, hearing a light 'mhmm' come from her throat when she looked back at him shyly. "How much…how much of our conversation did you hear?"

Gabriella blushed, looking down so he wouldn't catch the reddening of her cheeks and then dropping her hands to her leg, picking loosely on the threads of her sweater. "Enough," she answered not meeting his gaze, but already knew that wouldn't satisfy him as an answer.

"I'm serious Gabriella. What did you hear?"

She sighed, not wanting to start another situation to add on to the current. "I…I heard enough to tell you…that I love you too, Troy."

And then she felt guilty seeing the grin that broke out on his face, knowing what she was about to do. "But…"

"But?" His face dropped, knowing but was never a good word to hear, especially at a time like this, in a conversation like this.

"I can't, Troy. We can't," she whispered, making sure that they weren't heard by anyone else in the room and glad that they weren't paying even the slightest bit of attention to the couple but focused on laughing at the TV. "Right now, it's too much. We've already got so much that we have to deal with, I just…I don't want to jinx it."

"Jinx it? Gabriella, how would you be jinxing it?"

Glancing over at the other four, she grabbed his hand, dragging him into the kitchen where he looked on at her expectantly. "Gabi, please explain it to me…"

"I'm trying, Troy. I'm trying to do it without hurting you too much, but obviously that's not going to happen."

Troy scoffed. "Well if you already know you're going to hurt me, what is it? Why do you think you're going to jinx it."

"Troy, we broke up because you never had time for me…"

"And I thought we fixed that! You know that I'm here now. I'm here! I'm not going anywhere!"

"I do know that," she answered, closing her eyes painfully. "But why complicate things further."

"What?"

"We have a baby on the way, your mom is so desperate to keep us apart that she's filed a court order and we're not even together! Why make things worse by officiating things again. We should just…just deal with things as they happen. Focus on what's more important and the needs of our child and maybe when we've got all that sorted out then we can focus on our own needs."

Troy shook his head, not believing that he was hearing this from her. "I know that seems crazy, but I want you, Troy, I really do and I love you and that's why I think we shouldn't do this right now, because if we do, I can foresee something going wrong and things being even more screwed up than they already are."

Troy swallowed, his eyes watering but he refused to let them slip pasts his eyelids.

Gabriella groaned. "See! I knew I was going to hurt you, that's why I didn't want to say anything!..."

"Hey!" He instantly stopped her, grabbing both of her biceps and pulling her to him, one hand dropping her arm and reaching up to caress the side of her face. Her natural instinct was to close her eyes at the feel, opening them up again shortly to stare her chocolate brown into his ocean blue. "I'm glad you did," he admitted. "I want you to be honest with me and if you're ready to do this, us, then I'm not going to force you. We'll focus on the baby and making sure that we are everything that he or she needs, because you're right and that's what we should be doing."

She leaned her body forward, her head resting just blow his chin and his kissed the curls atop her head.

"But understand that once we've got everything sorted out and we're in good place; I _will _work for you to be mine again."

"Promise me," she mumbled and he nodded.

Gabriella pressed herself closer to him, not wanting to let him go, but after a few minutes he pulled her away gently and gave her a small smile before heading back to the living room. "I promise, I will have you," he said, leaving, Gabriella standing in shock.

Little did he know, she was already one step ahead of him.

"You already have me," she whispered, a hand pressed firmly to the bottom of her abdomen. "You've always had me."

**-XOXO-**

The next morning, Gabriella didn't wake up in her bed at her Aunt's apartment. She rolled over to an empty bed, but it wasn't her empty bed.

Reaching over, she expected to bump into another warm body, but that body was missing. She opened her eyes, adjusting to the semi-darkness that surrounding her with sunlight just begging to stream into the room from behind the closed shades. The sheets were rumpled and male clothes were haphazardly thrown near a hamper on the opposite side of the room. The door was cracked with a little light getting in as she could hear voices drifting down into the room and she sighed, laying back and staring at the ceiling.

Last night after the conversation they'd had in the kitchen, both had gone back and wordlessly watched the end of the movie. And when it came time for everyone to part ways, the three guys had instantly gone to their rooms while Melissa, Troy, and Gabriella stood by the door, but Gabriella wasn't willing to go home with so much going unsaid. She had somehow managed to convince Melissa to let her stay and after a few pleading statements she'd agreed and seeing as how Gabriella was schedule for an ultrasound the day after Christmas, it worked out better for the teen.

What was really unexpected was the fact that after Melissa had gone, the two had retreated back to Troy's room, with original plans to sleep, platonically sharing the bed, but after one innocent baby question from Gabriella, they wound up sitting up in the bed talking most of the night. They'd talked future plans, baby names, living situations, and even the possible gender of their child. It was a territory that hadn't been crossed or even thought about before last night, but at the same time it was a real conversation that held truth and plans and paved a way for what was to come.

The door creaked open slowly and a head popped in, catching Gabriella lying on her back, eyes trained on the ceiling. Her eyes glanced to see Troy's head from behind the door as he smiled at her acknowledgement of him entering the room.

"Hey there, sleepy head."

She turned so she was laying on her side and he sat down on the edge of the bed beside her as she rubbed her eyes and ran a hand through her already tousled hair. "Sleepy head?"

"Yeah, you finally woke up," he teased as she leaned over, looking for her phone.

"What time is it?"

"A little after 12."

"What?!" she sat up alarmed and he instantly put a hand on her arm. "Why'd you let me sleep this late?"

"Gabriella, we were up until at least 3 or 4 talking. I wasn't just going to wake you up."

"But the ultrasound…"

"Is at 1:30 right? You've got plenty of time. I was actually coming to wake you up anyway, knowing how OCD you get about things."

Gabriella sighed, looking up at him through her thick lashes and giving a thankful smile. "Right…thanks." She quickly gave him a once over, noticing he was already dressed. "You've showered and dressed before me? And before 12? I don't believe it."

He laughed, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Get dressed. Your clothes are still in the top drawer and Zeke made brunch if you want some."

About an hour later the two were in a different setting and it was that of a doctor's office. Currently waiting to be called back into the examination room, Gabriella sat with her hand on Troy's leg, drawing patterns on his thigh as he alternated between watching her curiously and catching the highlights of the football game that was displayed on the waiting room TV.

"What are you doing?" he asked, turning his full attention to her when a commercial came on.

Not realizing he was talking to her until she felt his hand on the small on her back and his eye on her, she looked up startled. "What?"

He smiled. "You were zoning out there."

She nodded. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just…this is your first time coming to an ultrasound with me."

"I know and I'm excited, aren't you?"

"Excited….nervous, whatever you want to call it."

Grinning at her cuteness he let his hand drift to rest on the slight bump forming on her abdomen. "Why would you be nervous? It's like your third one. If anything I should be the one nervous, I've never been!"

He watched her playing with the holes in her jeans and ducked his head to catch her eye, somehow willing her to confess. "I'm just…worried about what you'll think."

"What I'll think? Gabriella, that's my kid in there. I'm just happy you wanted me to be here."

She nodded furiously, taking his hand. "Of course I wanted you here."

He smiled, bringing his hand up to his lips and kissing it just as the nurse called her name. Keeping hold of her hand and standing up, he led her behind the nurse. "Let's go see our bebe!"

They disappeared down the hall, Gabriella's giggles radiating behind them. The nurses looked on with smiles as the couple was led into an examination room, the love seemingly contagious as everyone they passed watched with awe. No one could predict the future and right now they weren't living in the past. Live in the now, it's what they planned to do.

Let's see how long that'll last.

* * *

**I know it seems to be going a bit slow right now, but just bear with me because it all leads up to something interesting that it needs to build up to. So I'm sorry if it's not the best but think of it as like a multi-chapter filler. By chapter 12 or 13 I should have something a bit more drama-ey ready for you guys. So thanks again for reading and reviewing and don't forget to REVIEW! some more. Until 10/21/12!**


	9. Chapter 9

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_I can't, Troy. We can't,"_

**xx**

"_I know that seems crazy, but I want you, Troy, I really do and I love you and that's why I think we shouldn't do this right now, because if we do, I can foresee something going wrong and things being even more screwed up than they already are."_

**xx**

"_But understand that once we've got everything sorted out and we're in good place; I will work for you to be mine again."_

**xx**

"_Why would you be nervous? It's like your third one. If anything I should be the one nervous, I've never been!"_

_He watched her playing with the holes in her jeans and ducked his head to catch her eye, somehow willing her to confess. "I'm just…worried about what you'll think."_

"_What I'll think? Gabriella, that's my kid in there. I'm just happy you wanted me to be here."_

**Disclaimer:: I don't own HSM or the size system for clothes so I apologize if you're currently having issues with that (I am too). I do proudly state that I put together the outfit for Gabriella and I own this Mitchell Harris character, so it's a step up. **_  
_

**Link to the outfit sits in my profile under Age Appropriate.**

* * *

_**She was not the one who expected to get away with much in life.**_

_** -Larry McMurtry**_

* * *

Chapter 9

"Hey there Baby Mama," Taylor exclaimed walking up to Gabriella as sat in the school's outside courtyard attempting to finish some homework. It was the week after New Years and school had started back up again. Considering the fact that finals had taken place just a week before Christmas break, now that school was back, classes were in full swing and overload with work. There was still about 5 months or so before she would be officially done with her senior year and that was good, she knew that it would a long, grueling 5 months.

Gabriella glanced up at her with a roll of her eyes as she sat down, setting her bag down. "I hate everything about everything!"

Taylor looked at her nodding slowly. "Okay…well I would ask why, but I feel that would be a stupid question and you might snap at me."

"Smart realization."

"So what's going on now? I thought the whole morning sickness faze was over?"

"It is!" Gabriella exclaimed with a sigh, dropping her highlighter as she gave Taylor her full attention. "But now that that's over, there's the fact that I'm bloating, hormonal, craving crazy foods, swelling up pretty much everywhere, and that includes my stomach, which happens to be the worst part. I no longer wear a size 4, oh no! I'm in a 6 now, borderline 8 because my freaking pelvis is expanding!"

Raising an eyebrow, Taylor placed her hand on Gabriella's, attempting to calm her down. "Sweetie, your stomach's supposed to expand. There's a baby in there…"

Gabriella narrowed her eyes. "Please don't talk to me like a child. I'm aware of that, but borderline 8? That's insane."

"Gabi, why haven't you tried maternity?"

"I…" she stopped, a look of confusion crossing her face. "I haven't."

Taylor smiled. "Hun, when you wear maternity, you can stay in your size. The clothes are just made to stretch as you expand. It's definitely better than going up two sizes, because after the baby's here, when you are actually going to wear a size 6 or 8 again when you lose baby weight?"

Gabriella smiled. "That…that makes so much sense."

Taylor's smile turned into a smirk. "What did I tell you? I'm good at this…maybe I should be the pregnant whisperer…"

"Right," came the reply from Gabriella as she returned to her books.

"Don't give me that face, Montez!" Taylor pouted before Gabriella smiled. "Anyway, you've got some explaining to do."

"About what?"

With an eyebrow raised, the dark skin girl leaned in closer to her best friend. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

Gabriella's eyes were wide as she stared back at Taylor. "Find out about what, Tay?"

Taylor only rolled her eyes. "Seriously, stop playing dumb."

"I'm honestly not playing," Gabriella answered and Taylor's face fell as she slapped her hand to her forehead in desperation.

"I'm talking about you and Troy. Ring a bell now?"

Gabi shrugged. "What about Troy and I?"

Groaning, the girl looked at her friend in disbelief. "You seriously are going that route with me right now, aren't you?" Gabriella went to open her mouth, but Taylor cut her off. "Melissa told me. You spent half of Christmas over there with him."

She shook her head furiously. "That doesn't mean anything?"

"Like hell it doesn't! You just so happened to stay the night in the apartment of your ex-boyfriend and baby's daddy and it doesn't mean a thing to you? I find that hard to believe."

"We're not getting back together, Tay," Gabriella confessed, staring down at the table. "I know it sounds weird and what not, but it's not happening."

"And why not?"

"Because now is not the time."

"Oh, come on. You can't give me that, Gabriella and expect that to just be a good answer."

"It's good for me. Where have you been the last month? In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly on good terms with everything about the situation."

"Screw his mom! Who cares what she thinks?!"

"I do, Taylor!" Gabriella snapped back. "Believe it not, she is his mother and that means a lot to me that she give me her approval because whether any of us likes it or not I am having her grandchild. I can't image me not talking to the mother of my grandchild in the future. I feel like she despises me with a passion and now with the court case…"

"Gabriella! You can't use the fact that Troy's mom is being a bitch as an excuse not to want to be with him. There has got to be more than that."

Shrugging, she put away her books, moving to stand, but Taylor reached her hand out to stop her. "Taylor…maybe there is more, but it's not important and I…" seeing the look on her friends face, Gabriella stopped, sighed and gave up. "If it didn't work the first time, what makes you think that adding a baby to the mix is suddenly going to make everything magical and better?"

"Because having a baby brings people together, not apart."

"Yeah, when you're in love and happily married and financially stable and everyone around you is actually happy about it…"

"Get over that!" Taylor yelled. "Gabriella, honestly, I don't know what it is holding you back, but you need to realize that Troy's not going anywhere. He wants this; he wants to support you and be there for you and I'm pretty damn sure he wants to call you his girlfriend again. But all you're doing is pushing him away and eventually he's not going to try anymore. Don't you think that with all that he's done and shown you since he found out that he's in it for the long run? And what about the baby? If you guys have the chance, don't you think it'd be better if it's mother and father, who are clearly attracted to each other, be together and not apart?"

Gabriella looked away from Taylor, knowing deep inside she had a point, but the stubborn side of her was not willing to admit that right now. At her friends' silence, Taylor just sighed and picked up her bag. "I know you think I'm trying to lecture you and that what I'm saying isn't too different from what a lot of other people are saying right now, but I'm trying to help you. You may not see it now, but if you really sit back and take a look and think about it, you'll realize that I'm right and you need to fix this."

Expecting some sort of acknowledgement from Gabriella, Taylor waited a minute, wanting to see if Gabriella would actually turn and meet her eye, but she never did. She nodded and turned around, bag draped over her shoulder and walking away, knowing she would figure it out on her own soon enough.

**-XOXO-**

"Troy, what are you doing?"

Startled, Troy turned around seeing Gabriella in a black and white striped dress that had a big black bow around the waist, black flats on her feet. She wore appropriate accessories that included some bangle bracelets, Calypso earrings, a rose ring, and a Guess necklace along with a metal headband pushing back half of her slightly messy hair. The makeup she'd done had a bit of a smokey touch to it, but it wasn't too much as she stood in the doorway to his bedroom, biting her lip as she looked at his expectantly.

"Uh…getting ready for that…uhm…" he stopped, distracting by seeing her standing there looking so incredibly sexy, yet innocent at the same time, with her slight pregnancy bump being masked by the bow on the dress.

"The meeting?" She asked, wondering why he seemed at a loss for words all of a sudden, not catching on to his eyes that were trailing over her body.

"Uh…yeah. But I can't find my tie," he said, finally tearing his attention away from her and searching the floor for the lost tie.

"Troy," Gabriella giggled, stepping into the room and placing a hand on his hip. "It's just a meeting with the lawyer."

He nodded. "I know that, I just want to look nice, as nice as you do at least," he added, gesturing to her appearance.

She shook her head. "It's just a dress and ballet flats. I'm pretty sure you can get away with a polo and dress pants," she tried to assure him. "The jacket and tie is not necessary. Save it for the court date."

"If there is one," he snorted.

She shrugged, watching as he stripped the jacket and took off the dress shirt. "Well, that's why we're meeting with the lawyer today right? To figure out if she actually can do this to us?"

"Yeah, of course. I mean, it would be nice if she would just drop it, but we know my mother's not going to do that."

Gabriella rolled her eyes at this, strolling over to his dresser and picking up a bottle of perfume he had sitting open, sniffing it before scrunching up her face at the smell. "You know her more than me, you tell me what she's capable of, but right now I'm not sure what she'll do."

Troy scoffed. "She's not the devil, you know?"

"Really, could have fooled me," Gabriella answered sarcastically as Troy located a polo and pulled it over it his head.

"Gabriella please," Troy sighed, holding up two different shoes for her to choose from while she stood watching.

"Loafers," she answered him verbally. "And I'm sorry for voicing my opinion, but that's just the impression she gave me when she started this whole mess involving the courts."

"Well what the hell do you expect me to do?" Troy asked, his voice raising.

Gabriella looked down, playing with the ends of her dress as Troy sighed, finishing putting on his shoes before he walked over to her and ran his hands up and down her arms. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. This is stressing me out more than I expected it to."

"I get that, Troy, I do. I don't think anyone is more stressed out than I have been lately. Everything is happening so fast and so wrong and I can't help but worry that this is only the first of our problems."

"Stop worrying about it then. What happens, happens and we'll deal with it as it does okay?"

Nodding, she moved forward to press her body to his in a hug and his arms wrapped around her while her head fell on his shoulder and his face wound up near her ear. "Now are you ready for this meeting?"

"As ready as I can be."

**-XOXO-**

"Okay," Mitchell Harris sat down across from the two young adults in front of him. He'd been the lawyer they'd gotten in contact with through Melissa. Turns out she dated him in high school and he still had the hots for her, so she'd promised him a second chance with a date if he did her this favor. And just for her, he lowered his extremely high price to take them for a bargain. He was supposed to be a great lawyer, his clients were satisfied and he seemed to always get what he aimed for, so Gabriella was hoping he could help them out.

"I want to let you guys know that in order to represent you properly, I'll need the full story okay? That means everything from the start. I need details about the relationship that had led up to now okay?"

Gabriella paled at his words, turning to Troy, but Mitchell instantly smiled, shaking his head. "No, not those details, just…explain to me fully what you guys have been through together and different stages of your relationship without leaving anything out. And as far as your lives separately, I'll need personal info there too. No surprises, no secrets on this case. Melissa told me that Mrs. Bolton got your mother to work for her and I will tell you that your mother is damn good lawyer, so in order to make sure this case goes in your favor, I need to know everything about pretty much everything."

Troy sighed, looking over to Gabriella who gave him a small nod in confirmation. "Well, I guess it all started with her eating disorder. That was when we met…"

* * *

**I'm sorry. I totally forgot about updating because I don't have school tomorrow so I wasn't doing my normal Sunday night routine in which I remind myself to update and I'm laying down looking on my email on my phone and I remember...UPDATE! So I'm glad I remembered before the night was out. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to REVIEW!**

**xxTheRainWillFallxx**


	10. Chapter 10

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_Gabriella, honestly, I don't know what it is holding you back, but you need to realize that Troy's not going anywhere. He wants this; he wants to support you and be there for you and I'm pretty damn sure he wants to call you his girlfriend again. But all you're doing is pushing him away and eventually he's not going to try anymore._

**xx**

"_Stop worrying about it then. What happens, happens and we'll deal with it as it does okay?"_

_Nodding, she moved forward to press her body to his in a hug and his arms wrapped around her while her head fell on his shoulder and his face wound up near her ear. "Now are you ready for this meeting?"_

"_As ready as I can be."_

**xx**

"_So in order to make sure this case goes in your favor, I need to know everything about pretty much everything."_

_Troy sighed, "Well, I guess it all started with her eating disorder. That was when we met…"_

* * *

_**You have to be someone.**_

_**-Bob Marley**_

* * *

Chapter 10

Wednesday January 16, 2013.

The day was not one was looked forward to. It wasn't going to be a day that was going to go on without a hitch or a problem, but it was a day that could possibly change a life forever.

Or three lives.

Gabriella sighed as she tapped her heeled foot on the marbled floor, perched on a bench outside the courtroom where she would soon be entering, facing her fate. The fate that would choose the route of the rest of her life. This was the deciding factor that would wind up ending in life or death…

Maybe that was just a bit dramatic. Either way she was still sitting there tapping her foot, a complete nervous wreck.

"Hey," Troy turned to her, his face inches from hers. She met his eyes, seeing the intense look that was staring back at her. "What are you thinking right now?"

She took a deep breath, playing with her fingers and shrugged helplessly. "To be honest, I can even pinpoint one thought because there are so many jumping around in my head right now."

"Tell me one of them?" he asked her softly.

"I'm thinking…about how scared I am. If everything goes wrong today, what am I supposed to do?"

"You mean what are _we_ supposed to do. I'm not going anywhere, Gabriella and I feel like if I have to tell you that one more time, I'll explode from the fact that I've said it so much! We're in this together."

"But if your mother has her way, we won't be! What happens if this goes in her favor? She could send you to jail and then what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Gabriella, that's not going to happen…"

"How do you know that?!"

"Just stop! Stop worrying about it, stop beating yourself up and putting thoughts into your head. Everything will be fine!"

"Troy, Gabriella," Mitchell rounded the corner, briefcase in hand. "They're getting ready to start, you two ready?"

Gabriella's head dropped as Troy watched her carefully. "I guess we'll find out," he answered for her, grabbing both of her hands and not letting go as they walked into their fate.

**-XOXO-**

Lucille Bolton was mad.

Actually, she was beyond mad, she was pissed.

And Gabriella could tell this all by the look on her face as they left the courtroom.

The judge had surprisingly ruled in their favor, revealing that although the child was conceived before Gabriella's 18th birthday, the due date falling after her birthday had put them in a lucky position. Even with Julianne Montez representing Lucille, it had still been made clear that both parties had consented to the relationship, or had at least been aware and although New Mexico state law justifies under 18 a minor, parental consent to a relationship, physical or none, changed things severely.

The one thing however that was still subject to change was custody of the child. If somehow the baby were to make an arrival before the 18th birthday, custody would be given to the mother of the minor birthing the baby and Julianne would be fully entitled to do whatever she felt with the child until Gabriella was old enough to file for custody. In that time frame from birth to birthday, the father could also file for custody, being already over the age of 18, but considering the nature of the situation and the couple not being married or even together for that matter, neither Lucille nor Troy would have any given rights to the child unless specified by the legal guardian.

Gabriella was just praying now that with her birthday being June 10th and her due date being June 19th, that this baby would hold out to or past the due date. A premature baby would be deadly to both the child's health and future at this point and to best honest, deadly to Gabriella's emotions.

"Sweetie, stop it." Melissa spoke walking through her kitchen late the next Thursday afternoon.

Gabriella jumped, placing a shaky hand on her stomach while the other stopped her absent minded stirring of the pasta in the pot in front of her. She hadn't even realized her aunt was home. "What?"

Mel smirked at her niece, pouring herself a glass of juice before stopping the teenagers' unnecessary stirring. "You're ruining the pasta."

"I…" Gabriella looked down to see that she'd stirred the pasta until it was practically mush. "I better start a new pot."

"Let's not. How about I handle dinner tonight? I'll cook from scratch"

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she trashed the pasta. "Uh, you can't even make pizza from scratch, Aunt Mel."

"I know how to follow directions!"

Gabriella sent her a look and the older woman sighed, opening the drawer closest to her. "Fine, we'll order out. Chinese okay?"

"Please."

After placing the order and being told it would be 25 minutes, Melissa turned back to Gabriella to see she was sitting at the table, staring absently again. "Okay, what is it with you? You've been like this since yesterday."

And all she got from the quiet teen was a shrug. "Seriously, G, tell me what's up. That's what I'm here for."

"I guess I'm just thinking again. Constantly thinking."

"And if I could have any guess at what you're thinking about, would it be about the trial?"

"I don't know, I guess."

"Well, we know what happens when you start thinking; you always think up the worst. Hon, nothing bad is going to happen."

"And what is he or she is born before the 10th?"

Melissa shrugged. "Then he or she is put in total custody of your mother. It's not like she's going to do anything drastic."

"You don't know what she's capable of."

"And neither do you. You might think your mother is a horrible raging bitch, but I know better than that. I grew up with her remember? She wasn't always like this and she's not…"

"Wait? She wasn't always a raging bitch? I find that hard to believe."

"Believe it or not," Melissa said, ignoring Gabriella's sarcasm. "Your mom has a heart and as much as she's struggling right now with the idea of her baby having a baby, she's not all evil."

"The excuse is she's struggling?"

"Gabriella, try to understand how she feels."

"Only if she tries to understand how I feel."

"If your mother gains custody of the baby it wouldn't be that bad. Give her some credit, at least."

"Gabriella!" Taylor cried busting into the apartment seconds later.

"Whoa, Taylor. Knock at least? I gave you a key for emergencies when I'm not here," Melissa told her niece's friend.

Taylor flushed a bit in embarrassment. "Sorry," she apologized as Mel smiled and walked away. "Big news!"

Gabriella nodded. "I figured with the way you busted in here. What's up?"

"Everyone knows!"

"What? Please tell me everyone knows that I'm not living at home…"

"Well yeah, but they also know the reason why you're not living at home. They wrote an article about yesterday and published it in the paper this morning. How'd you not see it?"

"Not exactly a paper reading person."

"My parents mentioned it this morning, but I wasn't really awake to pay attention," Taylor noted, whipping out her phone and opening up her Google page to a bookmarked article on . "Here it is!"

" 'Teen Pregnancy Gone Awry'? What…I…this can't be real, can it?"

"It's real alright. I got to school and everyone was talking about it. People were asking where you were and they started piecing together why you were absent and why you've been absent so much lately. I swear I saw the paper with the article being passed around at least 30 times today and I saw at least 50 or so people sharing the internet article on their phones. If you had been in school today, you would've got a thousand stares and guaranteed you would have gone home early."

Gabriella groaned. "This can't be happening. This is the last thing I need right now."

And the worst part is that even though she didn't have to face it today or tomorrow, Monday she would be in for a whole new world of trouble.

* * *

**I hope that wasn't too seemingly rushed. To me it kind of feels like that, but then again I always second guess myself about the way a chapter finishes out and the way you guys will react but I don't know. Anyway, like I said in my note from the last chapter, if you do feel that it was rushed, it's because it's building up to a semi-big even for a different chapter and stuff. So I hope you like it and once again sorry if it seems rushed. Until 11/4 (: REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_Just stop! Stop worrying about it, stop beating yourself up and putting thoughts into your head. Everything will be fine!"_

"_Troy, Gabriella," Mitchell rounded the corner, briefcase in hand. "They're getting ready to start, you two ready?"_

_Gabriella's head dropped as Troy watched her carefully. "I guess we'll find out," he answered for her, grabbing both of her hands and not letting go as they walked into their fate._

**xx**

_You don't know what she's capable of."_

"_And neither do you. You might think your mother is a horrible raging bitch, but I know better than that. I grew up with her remember? She wasn't always like this and she's not…"_

"_Wait? She wasn't always a raging bitch? I find that hard to believe."_

**xx**

"_I swear I saw the paper with the article being passed around at least 30 times today and I saw at least 50 or so people sharing the internet article on their phones. If you had been in school today, you would've got a thousand stares and guaranteed you would have gone home early."_

_Gabriella groaned. "This can't be happening. This is the last thing I need right now."_

_And the worst part is that even though she didn't have to face it today or tomorrow, Monday she would be in for a whole new world of trouble._

* * *

_**We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out.**_

_**-Winston Churchill**_

* * *

Chapter 11

When Monday morning finally came around after a long weekend of mentally preparing herself for it, Gabriella wasn't feeling as apprehensive as she had originally felt. After psyching herself out for what was going to happen, she was sure the real thing wasn't going to be anything as worse as what her brain had forced her to think up. The morning had been going well so far, with her Aunt waking up to sit and have breakfast with her as she talked with Gabriella about how she was feeling in preparation for the day and it allowed her to express her feelings and get them out rather than keeping them bottled up.

Now that she was at school, sitting in her car, she'd already seen a few people walk by, but they hadn't even given a second glance to the slightly nervous Latina sitting in her car. She might as well face the music now.

Getting out of the car and grabbing her bag, she pulled down her oversized off the shoulder t-shirt further down over her growing stomach. She'd worn a pair of skinny jeans today that she'd bought with the maternity patch that goes over your stomach, making it stretch as well as giving support for her tummy while hiding it a little too.

Looking around at the kids that were filling into the building from the parking lot, she started her walk toward the doors as well, her flats smacking lightly against the pavement as she moved closer and closer.

With the opening of the doors, it seemed like time had slowed down. The chatter in the halls quieted and almost a hundred eyes centered on her as she came through the door. Standing frozen as the doors shut behind her, Gabriella took in her surroundings with a deep sigh. "Great," she murmured to herself, walking down the hall past the long stares of her fellow East High classmates.

Not a single person uttered a word to her, but each and every one stared as she maneuvered to her locker. And the staring didn't cease as she surfed through her locker for the books she would need for all her morning classes.

"Stare a little bit harder!" a voice yelled out into the hall. "Maybe she'll have her fucking baby right in front of your eyes! Assholes."

Gabriella watched the kids in the hall turn and get back to their own conversations as Taylor came into view along with Alex as they stood beside her locker. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Just a bit of an odd feeling having everyone's eyes glued to me and my stomach."

"Don't worry about it they're idiots," Alex commented. "They act like they've never seen an average girl go to school before."

Gabriella scoffed. "Yeah, I'm anything but average right now."

He shrugged in response. "Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you're not Gabriella. You're still the same person inside and out, just with a little extra."

Taylor turned to her 'friend' with a look of shock and aw. "Al, that was really deep."

"And sweet too," Gabriella added. "Thank you."

He grinned. "I have my moments. And you're very welcome."

The threesome started walking in the direction of where their homerooms were at and Gabriella instantly sent a knowing look to Taylor, who just blushed and shook it off. "So no one's said anything to you about it yet?"

"No, they all just stare. Which in a way I guess seems better. I'd rather them stare at me because they know the truth than to gossip about what they don't know and spread lies."

"I guess but they should still mind their own damn business."

"It's okay Tay, I can handle it right now. And yes, I will let you know if it gets to be too much," she continued, answering Taylor's unspoken question.

"Thank you," she smiled before turning to Alex. "Will I see you later?"

"Of course, why would you not?" Gabriella watched Alex lean down a bit to press a short and sweet kiss to Taylor's lips that put a smile on her face before he walked the short distance down the hall to his own homeroom class.

Gabriella sent another look in her direction which caused her to groan. "Please stop with the looks."

"I was just observing."

"Shut up."

"And you're sure he hasn't asked you out yet."

"Shut up! I'm pretty sure I'd remember if he asked me out."

"Just saying it's only a matter of time. You're already going to Prom together, might as well make it official."

"Yeah? I'll make it official with Alex with you and Troy make it official again."

"Don't even go there," Gabriella responded with her eyes narrowed.

"Aha! See now you know how I feel!" she exclaimed as they walked into class just as the bell rang to start the academic day.

**-XOXO-**

"Gabs!" Chad shouted as he opened up the door for her that afternoon. She smiled with her eyes wide at the greeting as she was ushered into the apartment. "How's it going?"

"Still pregnant," she answered him sarcastically. "Going as best as it possibly could be."

"Good to see you're on the positive upside of things," he muttered after closing the door.

"Yeah," she laughed at his face. "Where are the guys?"

"Zeke's got a class and Jason was saying something about some hot chick he met down at the gym."

"Oh…"

"But the guy you're really concerned about is in his room working on an English paper," Chad grinned. "Make yourself a home, I was just making super sub."

"Super sub?" she questioned following him into the kitchen to meet the sight of all ingredients one could possibly want in a sandwich all scattered on the counters. "Do I want to know?"

Chad shrugged. "Might not, but do you want one?"

"No thanks." She rejected standing awkwardly in the kitchen as he continued making his sandwich to perfection.

He glanced back at her standing there and shook his head. "You don't have to stand here and keep me company. Go talk to the idiot."

Turning with a slight laugh, Gabriella moved down the hall to Troy's room, spying the door closed. Hearing the sound of soft music playing from behind it, she knock on the door, hearing a faint voice from behind.

"Chad, I said I don't want a super sub; I just need to finish this paper."

Gripping on the door handle, she turned it and pushed the door open lightly, Troy's back being the first thing that came into view. "It's not Chad," she spoke up, making him jump and turn his attention to her.

"Hey! What's going on? Is everything okay?"

Getting over how quick he had jumped up and at her when she walked in the room, Gabriella nodded as she rubbed her forearm nervously. "I'm fine, everything's okay."

Troy eyed her skeptically, looking over her fully before the crease in his brow went away. "We didn't have plans for today did we?"

"No, Troy. I'm just here…I hope that's okay?"

"What? Of course, it's fine. I was just worried something was wrong. You normally don't just show up, you call first."

She nodded. "I know, I'm sorry. It was just…a pretty rough day at school."

He quickly cleared papers off his bed to make room for her, inviting her into to sit and talk. "No it's…you have a paper to write."

"Gab, it's not a big deal. I'm almost done, I'll finish it later."

"No, forget it. I'll go, call me when you get finished."

"Gabriella!" He reached out and gripped her arm before she even had the chance to go anywhere. "Stop second guessing yourself. You obviously came here to talk and I want to talk."

"But you're busy and I didn't know. I don't want to disturb you. We can talk some other time."

He shook his head, his hand trailing down to hers and lacing his fingers with her. "I've always got time for you, Brie."

"Are you sure?"

He pulled her over to the bed, making her sit down in front of him. "Tell me."

She sighed, letting her guard down as she finally opened up. "Everybody at school knows, Troy. And I tried to act like it didn't bother me and people stared at me all day, but it was horrifying; the stares, the whispers. I know it shouldn't be a big deal, but I can't help but feeling like a big joke."

Troy kept their hands intertwined as he gave her his full attention. And all that really mattered was that he was listening.

* * *

**Honestly, I wasn't even gonna post this chapter because I'm beyond tired, I've had a long week, have an even longer week ahead, and at this point I'm to the point where every single thing and every single person is pissing me off. So no other words but Read and Review because I'm so done about now. Sorry if this seems bitchy or something but I'm just beyond stressed right now. So I hope you liked it and yeah...**


	12. Chapter 12

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_Stare a little bit harder!" a voice yelled out into the hall. "Maybe she'll have her fucking baby right in front of your eyes! Assholes."_

**xx**

"_I'd rather them stare at me because they know the truth than to gossip about what they don't know and spread lies."_

"_I guess but they should still mind their own damn business."_

"_It's okay Tay, I can handle it right now. And yes, I will let you know if it gets to be too much."_

**xx**

_He shook his head, his hand trailing down to hers and lacing his fingers with her. "I've always got time for you, Brie."_

"_Are you sure?"_

_Troy kept their hands intertwined as he gave her his full attention. And all that really mattered was that he was listening._

* * *

_**No pen, no ink, no table, no room, no time, not quiet, no inclination**_

_**-James Joyce**_

* * *

Chapter 12

"Gabriella!" Melissa called walking into the apartment and resting her bag and keys down on the table. "Gabriella!"

Gabriella came padding down the hall from her room, sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt draped over her body, hiding her ever growing abdomen. "What is all the yelling for?"

"I have news! Big news!"

"What?"

"Your mother called me today," she started, but Gabriella signed and rolled her eyes.

"Aunt Mel, please…"

"No, honey, this is good news."

"Good news that involves my mother? I'm not sure that I can believe that right now."

"Seriously, Gabriella. She called me while I was on my break today and we had a long talk about everything and I tried to explain to her how much stress you're under and how difficult everything has been and will be for you and she listened to me."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"It means that you and your mother need to talk."

Shaking her head, Gabriella turned away from her Aunt. "I don't want to talk to her."

"Just give her a chance…"

"Trust me when I say that talking to her will do no good. She's not interested in fixing this."

"She is! Gabi, I spoke to her…"

"Aunt Mel, please! I would appreciate it if you would let me handle this on my own. And I love the fact that you want to help, but I don't want to speak to my mother, not anytime soon."

"She's willing to tell Lucille she wants no part in the case if you just sit down and talk with her!"

"That's bull!"

"Then why don't you go talk to her yourself," her aunt said, picking up the house phone and sticking it out towards her niece.

**-XOXO-**

Gabriella paced in her room, phone in hand as she tapped it against her palm, wondering whether or not to actually dial her mothers' number.

She missed her mother. She hated the way things had gone when she admitted to being pregnant, and she wished she could apologize for everything that had ever happened. But on the downside, she also couldn't stand the fact that her mother was doing this. She hated the plan of action her mother had taken and the way she had acted towards her only child. You would think after losing her husband and soul mate, she would be a little bit more careful as to not lose her daughter too, especially by pushing her away.

Sighing, she clicked the talk button and pressed the numbers she'd knew by heart. Hearing it ring 3 times, Gabriella was close to chickening out and hanging up, but was too late when the phone picked up.

"Hello?"

Freezing in her spot, the teenager let herself sit down on the edge of her bed, not knowing what at all to say.

"Melissa?"

Still unable to respond, Gabi took a deep breath, trying to figure in her mind the right words to say."

"Gabriella? Is that you honey?"

There was a strangled breath that was released from the young Montez on the phone and that was all Julianne needed as confirmation. "Sweetie, I'm sorry and I want you to know that everything that has happened in the past couple of months I regret wholeheartedly."

At the sound of those words, a loud sob escaped out of Gabriella's throat, but it was still the only sound that had came from her end of the line."

"Gabi, I am so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am and how terrible I feel about anything, but honestly at this point, I just want you back home. I know how stressful this all can be on you and I have been no help at all. You're nearly 6 months pregnant and I haven't spoken to you at all since you told me. I want to be a part or your life and this baby's life too."

"Mom, you don't understand!" Gabriella cried. "You made me feel like shit and you kicked me out! Do you even remember what you said to me? Do you even know how much your words affected me that night?"

"_I'm…pregnant."_

_The stunned woman looked at her daughter with complete shock. "I…you…what?"_

_Gabriella bit her lip nervously, trying not to meet her mothers' gaze. "I'm pregnant."_

_Trying to carefully place her words, Julianne took a deep, calming breath. "How long have you known?"_

"_Since yesterday. I had a feeling that something was up, but Taylor and I got a couple of pregnancy tests yesterday and I took two of them, both came back positive."_

"_Oh God!"_

"_Mom, I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen!"_

"_First, you tell me you wish I had died and now you tell me you're pregnant? What a wonderful daughter you are," her mother replied sarcastically._

"_What?" Gabriella couldn't believe the words coming from her mothers' mouth. She tried furiously to hide the tears that were spilling from her eyes._

"_Why would you do this to me? Isn't it hard enough that I have to deal with raising you as a single mom, but now you've gone and got yourself pregnant by a 20...oh excuse me, now 21 year old male."_

"_It's not like I did it on purpose!"_

"_Nothing you do is ever on purpose! Just like the things you said to me the other day, the way you've been treating me since your father passed, your bulimia, the fact that you got involved with an older man. None of that was on purpose either, right?"_

_Turning her head because she didn't have an explanation, Gabriella let more ears slip from her eyes as she avoided looking into her mothers' face. "I…I don't know what to say…"_

"_Don't say anything!" Julianne spoke sternly. "I don't want you to say a god damned word to me. As a matter of fact, do me a huge favor and just get the hell out of here!"_

"_Huh? Mom, you can't! Please just listen to me for a second…"_

"_I'm done listening! You've caused enough drama with all the shit that's gone on over the past few years and I'm tired of it all. Go take it somewhere else because honestly I'm through with it. Pack your stuff and go."_

_With one last look between the two females, Julianne stormed out of her office and Gabriella reluctantly went to grab the essentials and necessities from out of her room so she could get out as quickly as possible._

"Gabriella…I know that night was…"

"That night was terrible! The worst night of my life. I know that all the things I'd said to you had been terrible, but I was scared and confused and I needed your help. I apologized and you just pushed me away and I don't understand how you could do that to me when you had always continuously claimed how much you loved me and how that was never going to change!"

"It hasn't changed! I love you with all my heart because you are my child and I regret everything that was said that night and I regret agreeing to take on this case, but I'm apologizing to you now, hoping that we can work it out and get things back to the way they were."

"Why should I forgive you when you couldn't forgive me?"

"Because I was an idiot. Sweetie, please just come home. I'm asking you to come back to the house so we can fix this."

"There's nothing to fix!" Gabriella exclaimed through the phone. "I'm with someone who actually wants me here and cares about me and my baby and supports my decisions 100%."

"Gabriella…"

"If I come back, things aren't going to change. You're still going to be upset that I'm pregnant, you're still going to be upset because Troy and I are still talking, and we're going to keep on fighting nonstop. And if that isn't enough, do you honestly think things will get better with a baby in the house?"

"Baby, I'm trying, I honestly am. I want to be the mother I haven't been."

"It's a little too late for that."

"I…"

"Mom! Right now, I need this. I need to stay in a place where I feel wanted, where I can be at home and feel loved and be around the people that want to help me. Things are going okay right now, and I'm not willing to risk that."

There was a silence from Julianne's end of the phone, which forced Gabriella to continue on. "Maybe in a few months before my due date or after the baby's born I'll want to come back and work things out, but I don't the drama right now and I think we should both keep our distance and savor our space from each other. I love you, but this is what's best for me right now."

It sounded like Julianne had been preparing to say something, but with hesitation, Gabriella pressed the end button on the phone, breathing a long sigh of relief from getting everything off her chest. Feeling all of her emotions overpowering her, she let loose when the tears started pricking at her eyes, sitting back on her bed. It wasn't even seconds later that Melissa had appeared in the room, obviously had been listening to the phone call, and gripped her niece tightly, rocking her back and forth.

The emotional thickness in the room could be cut with a knife, but it was better that they had gotten everything settled and somewhat dealt with while they could handle it all.

* * *

**Guys, I really appreciate all the understanding reviews about my mood last update, a lot of you just kind of shoved it under the rug when I actually expected you to think I was the bitch of the year, but you should be glad to hear I'm in a much better mood this week. I recently went on a college visit to my first choice and I LOVED IT! I completed my application as soon as I got home and I should hear back from them before Christmas so I'm really excited about that and well Breaking Dawn part 2 comes out Friday and I get out of school early so I will have seen it by the time everyone else gets out of school (well those who aren't going to the midnight premiere). So I hope you liked this chapter and I kinda added her mom because it's been a while since we've heard from her and I wanted to show that Gabriella's not going to forgive her just so easily, even thought that is her mom. Let me know what you think please! REVIEW! and until 11/18 (:**

**~xxTheRainWillFallxx~**


	13. Chapter 13

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_It means that you and your mother need to talk."_

_Shaking her head, Gabriella turned away from her Aunt. "I don't want to talk to her."_

"_Just give her a chance…"_

"_Trust me when I say that talking to her will do no good. She's not interested in fixing this."_

**xx**

"_Gabi, I am so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am and how terrible I feel about anything, but honestly at this point, I just want you back home. I know how stressful this all can be on you and I have been no help at all. You're nearly 6 months pregnant and I haven't spoken to you at all since you told me. I want to be a part or your life and this baby's life too."_

"_Mom, you don't understand!" Gabriella cried. "You made me feel like shit and you kicked me out! Do you even remember what you said to me? Do you even know how much your words affected me that night?"_

**xx**

"_Why would you do this to me? Isn't it hard enough that I have to deal with raising you as a single mom, but now you've gone and got yourself pregnant by a 20...oh excuse me, now 21 year old male."_

"_It's not like I did it on purpose!"_

"_Nothing you do is ever on purpose! Just like the things you said to me the other day, the way you've been treating me since your father passed, your bulimia, the fact that you got involved with an older man. None of that was on purpose either, right?"_

_**xx**_

"_Baby, I'm trying, I honestly am. I want to be the mother I haven't been."_

"_It's a little too late for that."_

"_I…"_

"_Mom! Right now, I need this. I need to stay in a place where I feel wanted, where I can be at home and feel loved and be around the people that want to help me. Things are going okay right now, and I'm not willing to risk that."_

* * *

_**I had seen birth and death, But had thought they were different.**_

_**-T.S. Eliot**_

* * *

Chapter 13

Gabriella smiled from her position lying across Troy's bed 2 weeks later as she observed his inspection of the picture in his hand.

"It doesn't even look like…"

"It's a leg, Troy," Gabriella answered before he could finish his statement. "Trust the doctor, she knows what she's talking about."

"I know, but it's just really unbelievable. I…I can't even…" He stopped suddenly, turning his head to stare at her and she looked back questioningly.

"What?"

Without answering, he stood up and catapulted himself onto the bed next to her, making her bounce up and down with the mattress. "Troy!" she giggled, but immediately stopped at the intense and meaningful look on his face as he placed his hand softly on her rounded stomach.

There was a comfortable silence that fell over the two of them as he rubbed his hand gently around the smooth and slightly hardened surface. Biting her lip, Gabriella watched him in curiosity, waiting and wondering if he was going to say something. And in a last minute impulse, she rested her hand on top of his, making him look up and meet her eyes.

"There's a baby in there," he spoke so softly, she had to think about whether he'd actually spoken to her. "I still can't even fathom the thought…that's my child in there."

Nodding, she moved his hand slowly so they were rubbing her abdomen together.

"I never thought there was something I could feel so strongly about or care so much for but when I see you and my…" he stopped, staring at her stomach, trying to find the words to say. "I find myself feeling so protective of you and our baby and I just…I wonder if it's strange that I'm actually excited about being a father to this kid."

Gabriella smiled, her hand moving to stroke the top of his head, drifting down slightly to play with the hairs on the back of his neck. "It's not strange. It's sweet and very responsible and the fact that you're willing to be here says so much more about you than most guys out there."

"Why wouldn't I be here? I would never leave you to deal with this alone…"

"I know," she cut him off quickly. "And I appreciate that so much, but you know we're still kind of in over our heads on this one. Although I'd love to live the fairy tale life with you, we've still got so much to figure out."

"And we will! As time moves on…"

"It's already almost March. I'm due in June. We've got to figure it out sooner rather than later."

"I know. That's what scares me about the whole situation."

"What? The fact that it's happening so fast?"

"No, not at all. Sure it would be nice to have more time, but I'm scared that I won't figure it out."

Gabriella's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she stopped her actions with his hair and dropped her hand to give him her full attention. "What are you talking about?"

"What if I don't figure any of this out, what if we don't? What if he or she gets here and we have nothing done or solved because we don't know how to? And then what if we're terrible parents because we have no idea what we're doing because we've never done this before. I…I can't do that to our kid. I can't be some deadbeat that can't even support…"

"Troy! Stop thinking like that. This is why we have help. Aunt Mel and believe it or not Chad and the guys, your dad's not cutting you out completely, and maybe even your mom might turn a new leaf." She stopped as she let herself believe in her own words, calming her own fears as well. "My dad always said that if you think negative, everything will come out that way, but if you keep your head up, only good things can come your way."

Troy looked over at her pretty much flawless face, her chocolate brown eyes, and olive skin that seemed to be glowing and smiled, reaching to lace their hands together. "Your dad sounds like a wise man, wish I could have met him."

Releasing a small smile as well, Gabriella nodded. "Yeah I wish you could have met him too. I think he would have liked you," she commented, letting out a laugh after. "You know after he had gotten over the fact that you're 3 years older and got me pregnant."

"You think he would have tried to kill me?"

"Probably," she giggled. "But he would have calmed down eventually and realized it wasn't the best thing to do."

"Because in the end it would hurt everyone right?"

"That and I don't think he'd want to spend the rest of his life in jail and away from us."

"Oh, ha-ha."

After a slightly awkward silence, Gabriella's face light up and she grabbed Troy's hand. "Let's go do something!"

Glancing at her oddly, he couldn't help the infectious smile that spread from her face to his. "Like what?"

"I don't know; anything!"

"We can't exactly do just anything, Brie, especially not you."

"I not talking anything drastic, but I want to have fun. I feel like we've constantly been stressing and we just need to let loose and forget about it for a while."

Staring at her bright and shining face that was suddenly filled with life at the thought of actually having the perfect idea to deal with some of the tensions and worries that had been surrounding the two for months now, Troy couldn't help but feel some sort of excitement at her plan. "Let's do it."

-**XOXO**-

"Troy!" Gabriella yelled out in a giggle. "Don't let me go!"

"I'm not," he assured her, his hands rested securely on her waist. "Are you sure you should be doing this?"

Gabriella continued to glide somewhat unsteadily on her ice skates, holding on to the side of the rink as well as using Troy's arms for support. "I'll be fine, as long as I don't fall."

Chuckling, Troy gripped a bit tighter. "I'm not so sure that I can guarantee that."

"You better not let me fall," she freaked out, grabbing onto his arms. "Admit that you're having fun and this was a great idea."

"No."

"Admit it!"

"No."

"Troy!" She stopped suddenly, gripping tightly to the wall as he gripped tightly to her. Turning around slowly in his arms, she faced him, allowing him to see the red nose and cheeks she was sporting even with her pea coat buttoned all the way up to her neck and a hat on her head. "Why won't you admit this is fun?"

"Because I'm trying to make sure you don't accidentally have too much fun and hurt yourself."

"I'm not going to hurt myself," she rolled her eyes. "That's why you're here, duh!"

Seeing the glare that he gave her, she giggled and squeezed his hand in her own gloved one. "I'm fine, Troy. I need this, we need this. There's nothing in the pregnancy handbook that says you can't go ice-skating."

"There is no pregnancy handbook…"

"Exactly!"

"But I'm sure if there was, there would probably be something against in-line ice-skating while pregnant, especially in 43 degree weather."

"Oh, lighten up! It's always cold in Albuquerque in the end of February, so it's not like I wouldn't have had to face the cold eventually. I'm not confined to my aunt's apartment you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're here aren't we?"

"Yes," she smiled. "Thank you!"

"I can't say no to you." He responded, not meeting her eyes for a second, but focusing on her lower half, particularly glancing to her hidden stomach. "And I honestly think you might be starting to take advantage of that."

"I would never!"

"Liar!"

"Rude!"

"You're lucky you're pregnant."

Dropping her jaw, Gabriella pouted at him. "What are you trying to say, that if I wasn't pregnant…"

"You'd never get your way," he finished her sentence with a placating smile.

She nodded with an admiring look. "Nice cover up."

Troy smiled as he grabbed her hand and started to skate again, prompting her to skate beside him. "I'm glad I came out here with you."

Smiling brightly, she squeezed his hand. "I'm glad you came with me too. I'd look mighty lonely if I was out here ice skating by myself."

Chuckling, he nodded. "Nice to know."

"I'm just kidding," she replied, nudging him with her hip. "I love this, I love us right now, despite the situation and honestly, you're all I could ask for. Don't ever leave me."

Skating and front of her and stopping, grabbing her hips to pull her to him in the process, Troy's eyes connected with Gabriella's instantly. "You should know by now that I'm not going anywhere. I've given too much and you're worth too much to me."

Biting her lip with a shy smile and looking up at him through her eyelashes, Gabriella didn't hesitate before sliding her hands up to his biceps and pulling herself up to press a light kiss to his lips. There was no doubting this is definitely where she wanted to be and who she wanted to be with.

* * *

**HELLO! (: HAS ANYONE GONE TO SEE TWILIGHT BRAKING DAWN PART 2? I LOVED IT, GO SEE IT! I cried lol. **

**Hope you guys are not getting bored with this story, because I realized the last few chapters have been a bit slow and a bit more focused on Troy and Gabriella building a relationship again rather than the baby, but NO FEAR! Drama is in store. I'm definitely looking to more the story forward a bit in the next 3-4 chapters because I won't go through her entire pregnancy of course. So keep reading and reviewing, yeah REVIEW! and I will see you again with another update on 11/25! **

**And Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you guys will all enjoy the end of this upcoming week and spending it with your family and loved ones.**

**~xxTheRainWillFallxx**


	14. Chapter 14

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_I never thought there was something I could feel so strongly about or care so much for but when I see you and my…" he stopped, staring at her stomach, trying to find the words to say. "I find myself feeling so protective of you and our baby and I just…I wonder if it's strange that I'm actually excited about being a father to this kid."_

_**xx**_

"_I can't say no to you." He responded, not meeting her eyes for a second, but focusing on her lower half, particularly glancing to her hidden stomach. "I'm glad I came out here with you."_

**xx**

"_I love this, I love us right now, despite the situation and honestly, you're all I could ask for. Don't ever leave me."_

"_You should know by now that I'm not going anywhere. I've given too much and you're worth too much to me."_

* * *

_**Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open ever door.**_

_**-Emily Dickinson**_

* * *

Chapter 14

"Gabriella!" Melissa's voice rang through the apartment as she walked in the door.

The young girl was perched on the floor with Taylor, the two having come up with the fabulous idea of making decorations for the future child developing in Gabriella's uterus.

"What's going on?"

"Why don't you come over here and find out," Melissa teased her with a smirk.

Gabriella looked over at Taylor, who shrugged, before she stood up and semi-waddled over to her aunt. "The last time you called my name like that, I really didn't like the outcome of the news," she noted, referring to the situation with her mother just last week.

"Trust me, you're going to love this one," she replied, handing over a letter that had come in the mail.

Eyeing her aunt skeptically, she glanced down at the envelope, her eyes widening when she read the Stanford University stamp on the top. She looked up at her aunts' expectant face and then over to Taylor's confused one as she stood up and made her way over to them.

"Do you think this could be what I hope it is?"

Peeking over her shoulder, Taylor gasped and Melissa shrugged. "Only one way to find out…"

"But, acceptance letters usually come big, right? Most of them are like packets filled with information? What if this is a rejection letter?"

"Maybe if you open it," Taylor urged, her hands trying to hurry her friend along.

Hesitating with her pointer finger halfway under the seal, Gabriella wasn't sure she was confident enough to do this. "Open the damn letter!" Taylor screamed in frustration. "I want to know!"

"Calm down!" the brunette hushed her friend. Taking a deep breath, she slid her finger all the way across the back of the seal, breaking it clean and then folding it back to grip the letter inside. Pulling it out slowly, she closed her eyes, mentally prepping herself as she opened up the tri-fold.

"So? Is it a rejection?" Taylor immediately asked as soon as Gabriella's eyes started trailing across the paper.

Melissa stood back watching as Gabriella's eyes scanned the letter in disbelief. "It's….they accepted me."

"That's wonderful! That's beyond wonderful! OH MY GOD, MY BEST FRIEND GOT INTO STANFORD!"

Giggling at Taylor's excitement, she looked at Mel, seeing the knowing smile that graced her face. "Did you know?"

Sending a sly look toward her niece, Melissa bit her lip and folded her arms across her chest guiltily. "I may have…read it through the envelope."

"Aunt Mel!"

She shrugged. "What? It's not my fault they don't make it so their letters aren't see through. Hold it up to the sun or any kind of light and anyone can figure out your business."

Walking over and sitting back on the couch, handing her letter over to Taylor who inspected it eagerly, Gabriella had to let he news sink in. "I got accepted to Stanford University," she told herself quietly.

"Damn right!" Taylor spoke from 3 feet away, still reading the letter.

"My niece got into Stanford!" Melissa shrieked. "I always knew you'd do it, now I have to go call that awful Mrs. Schroeder and rub it in her face!"

Narrowing her eyes, neither Gabi nor Taylor questioned the older woman as she exited the room but Gabriella continued to take in her news.

"They said they're going to send you more information at a later date as they get everyone their letters and such…OH! And you got accepted into the honors program too! No wonder! They couldn't possibly fit all that information in one packet and send it to you all at the same time. God, this is so exciting! Aren't you excited?"

"Yeah, I'm excited," Gabriella smiled, rubbing her stomach. "But I'm also scared as hell," she muttered to herself when Taylor had gone back to re-reading the letter for the 50th time in 5 minutes. Things were becoming more real by the second.

-XOXO-

"Troy, I'm scared," Gabriella spoke as she walked into his bedroom later that evening.

He'd jumped at the opening of his bedroom door and was standing in front of her in less than 5 seconds. "What happened?"

Shaking her head, she gently pushed his hands away from her. "Nothing like that, I'm fine, but not fine….theoretically."

Sighing, he let out a breath of air. "Please try not to give me a heart attack."

Blushing and making herself comfortable on his bed, she apologized quickly and quietly before becoming silent.

"Okay, what's going on?"

"I got accepted into Stanford today."

"Brie, that's….I can't even…"

"I got accepted into the Honors Program," she cut him off, continuing her news. "But I'm not sure Stanford's going to work out."

"Why wouldn't it?"

Scoffing, Gabriella shook her head. "I didn't think I'd have to explain why…"

"Brie, they obviously accepted you based on your grades, not your current heath condition."

"But what about when they find out I'm pregnant, or that I'll be juggling a child and school at the same time?"

"Cross that bridge when you get there. Right now, I can't see why you won't just be excited. Stanford's your dream school, Gabriella and you're in!"

"But yet I'm not at the same time. Things are guaranteed to change."

"No they're not! They have to have a legitimate reason to change your acceptance. Once you're in, they can't just tell you no."

"They can, Troy! You wouldn't understand that! I don't even know why I came here to you."

As she turned to leave, Troy's hand grabbed a hold of her wrist. "Get off me!"

"Stop it!"

"Let go!" she screamed back, her hands coming in contact with his chest as she tried to push him away from her.

"Gabriella, please!" He held his grip on her as she tried pushing and shoving him away. His hands grabbed onto her waist to prevent losing his grip on her, but she just fought against him more. "Stop fighting me, we have to talk about this!"

"About what?" she screamed as he focused on keeping his hold on her waist without hurting the baby during her struggles against him.

"Gabri…"

Troy didn't have time to finish his plea to her, because next thing either of them knew, Gabriella had pushed exceptionally hard against his hold and his lost the firm grip he'd had on her. With Troy stumbling back, Gabi hadn't been secure enough on her feet, tripping over the carpet lining his bedroom floor.

In seconds, before Troy could register what was going on, her body was falling backwards, hurdling toward the floor and in slow motion he watched as her head caught the edge of his bedpost and he heard the small, yet deafening crack before her tiny body fell limp on the floor.

"Gabriella!" Scrambling over to her, he reached for her neck, confirming that she had a pulse but was knocked unconscious. Pulling her closer to him to try and coax her back to a state of consciousness, he cradled her head in his lap, pushing the hair out of her face, looking for any signs that she might open her eyes for him. "Gabi, please! If you can hear me just, do something, anything."

In that moment, that he suddenly retracted his hand from the back of her head, eyeing the red liquid that had appeared on his fingers. And it was then that he knew that he wasn't sure what was happening, whether her injuries were serious or not, but that if he didn't get her help soon that could turn deadly. The one thing he was not going to do tonight was lose her.

* * *

**I hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm taking a slight break to update this for you guys because I love you and think you deserve a random holiday post, so I hope you enjoyed the extra chapter and yes I still will post on Sunday. **

**I got accepted into my number 2 college earlier this week, so I'm really excited about that but I still have yet to hear from my number 1, so crossing my fingers that I hear from them before Christmas, wish me luck!**

**Oh and for those of you who plan to go out tomorrow, on Black Friday, please be safe. Unfortunately, I have part-time job in retail, so I will have to go out and work an 8 hour shift (luckily the Friday night into Saturday morning when it's quiet) but I hate hearing about the madness that happens between 12am-3pm, so please keep safe! Some people are crazy and on days like Black Friday all hell breaks lose and no one seems to care about the welfare of others. Until Sunday! **


	15. Chapter 15

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_It's….they accepted me."_

"_That's wonderful! That's beyond wonderful! OH MY GOD, MY BEST FRIEND GOT INTO STANFORD!"_

_**xx**_

"_Brie, they obviously accepted you based on your grades, not your current heath condition."_

"_But what about when they find out I'm pregnant, or that I'll be juggling a child and school at the same time?"_

"_Cross that bridge when you get there. Right now, I can't see why you won't just be excited. Stanford's your dream school, Gabriella and you're in!"_

_**xx**_

"_Stop fighting me, we have to talk about this!"_

"_About what?"_

_Troy didn't have time to finish his plea to her, because next thing either of them knew, Gabriella had pushed exceptionally hard against his hold and his lost the firm grip he'd had on her. With Troy stumbling back, Gabi hadn't been secure enough on her feet, tripping over the carpet lining his bedroom floor_

_In seconds, before Troy could register what was going on, her body was falling backwards, hurdling toward the floor and in slow motion he watched as her head caught the edge of his bedpost and he heard the small, yet deafening crack before her tiny body fell limp on the floor._

"_Gabriella!"_

* * *

_**Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there. You're there.**_

_**-Cat Stevens**_

* * *

Chapter 15

Troy sat in the hospital waiting room, tossing around thoughts in his head of what could possibly happen to Gabriella. Of course, he'd been here for over an hour and they'd wheeled her in the minute he'd arrived, told him to stay in the waiting room and haven't come back to say anything since.

His thoughts seemed to be acting on their own as they came up with every possible scenario of what the doctors might come out and say. None of them he liked, either, because each one had some sort of complication that wasn't fair or would make him have to move on without Gabriella or his child.

The best case scenario, of course, wasn't even an option at this point for his brain to process. The pessimistic attitude had already set in and started to take over and there was no turning that around now.

"Troy!" The young man lifted his head from his hands to see Melissa run through the automatic doors near the elevator. He stood up, ready to tell her all that he knew, but that was before he realized who came in behind her.

"Why is she here?"

"Excuse me?" Julianne Montez snapped, reading to pounce.

"Troy, she is her mother," Melissa tried to compromise with him, knowing how he felt about her in light of recent events."

"Not much of a mother she's been lately."

"You have no place to talk, you little pervert!"

"Pervert?" Troy asked, trying to keep his anger in check.

"Yes! That's what you are; a pervert! You are a grown man that had sex with my 17 year old daughter and got her pregnant. You're lucky I don't press charges against you."

"That has nothing to do with the situation at hand," Troy spoke, his voice lowering with his mood.

"It has everything to do with it! You're a fucking child molester and if it weren't for you, she wouldn't even be in this situation right now!"

"So that's what you do? Whenever you feel guilty about your terrible parenting you blame it on someone else!?"

When Julianne stepped forward to take a hit at Troy, Melissa had finally had enough. "Okay!" She voiced sternly, her tone borderline yelling. "That's it, the last thing we need right now is to get kicked out of the hospital. Regardless of whether you two like or hate each other, you're both here for Gabriella, we all are. And us out here bickering and arguing is not going to help her get better, understand?"

Troy turned his head away from the both of them, staring at the wall while trying to remember where he was and who he was dealing with. The only thing that stopped him front saying more at this point was the realization that Julianne Montez was a well-known and damn good lawyer that could and probably would turn around anything he'd say to use it against them once again.

"Thank you," Melissa was satisfied when Julianne took a breath, both showing that they were giving up the fight at this moment in time. "Now, can you tell me what they said about Gabriella?"

Troy shrugged. "Nothing, nothing at all. I've been sitting in that chair since I brought her in and each time I've asked, I've been told they're still doing tests."

Julianne huffed. "It doesn't take that long to do tests. You just have to know how to talk to these people."

Narrowing his eyes, Troy motioned toward the front of the nurses' station. "If you must, suit yourself."

"I will," she answered smugly, but before she could make a move, she was interrupted by a white coat stepping in front of the three of them.

"Are you the family of Gabriella Montez?"

"Yes!" Melissa jumped up directly in front of the doctor. "Is she okay? What's wrong with her?"

"Well the report we got when she came in says that she suffered her injuries after an accident from which she fell and hit her head on a bedpost?"

"Fell?" Julianne asked, her eyes darting over to Troy's. "What did you do to my daughter?"

Melissa quickly, gripped onto her sisters' arm, tugging her closer to her body. "Yes, what did the tests say?"

"Well for a head injury, we expected her to have a significant amount of blood loss, but due to the way she fell and the thickness of her hair, there was enough to clot the blood well enough before we were able to sustain it ourselves. The gash however, was quite deeper than we'd expected and we definitely know that at this point she's got a concussion, but we're not positive what else the injury has caused."

"Is she awake?"

Shaking his head. "No, which normally we try to keep our concussion patients awake, we figured it might be easier on her as well as the baby to let her get a little rest. That and considering the fact that she was in and out of consciousness since you brought her in. We were unable to keep her awake so we'd like to monitor her when she wakes up."

"And the baby?" Troy asked.

"Forget the baby, can I go see her?"

Ignoring Julianne's question, the doctor turned to Troy. "We're still running the tests in that department. As far as we can see, she didn't suffer and injuries there, but she did land on her back and we're checking to be sure everything as far as the vertebral and cervical areas have not been sprained or cracked in the process. We can tell from certain impact points that she had a pretty nasty fall. Hard on a petite body like hers."

"Can we go see her?"

He nodded. "Yes, but we still have to run tests, so be aware that we'll be in and out of her room frequently as well as possibly moving her depending on results. Room A154."

When he walked away, the three wasted no time shuffling down to Gabriella's room, her condition the most important thing on everyone's mind.

_**-XOXO-**_

"Oh sweetie," Julianne spoke as they walked into the room. The sight of Gabriella's pale and unconscious body was a bit uneasy to look at, but at this point it was better than her other option.

Various tubes were connected to the veins in her arms as well as other places and there was big white bandage wrapped around her head. The only movement coming from her that told she was still alive was the light and almost unseen breaths that her body was taking, moving the sheets ever so slightly.

And of course, the medium sized bumped protruding from her abdomen that Troy could swear had gotten smaller since he'd last seen her. That couldn't be good.

"I hate seeing her like this," Julianne admitted, her purse being dropped on the chair and staking her claim right at Gabriella's bedside, hand stroke the hair that was out from underneath her ugly bandage.

"I don't think any of us do," Melissa spoke, her hand resting on Troy's shoulder as she saw the look that started to overcome his face. "Troy, please don't do that."

"I didn't…"

She shook her head. "You're blaming yourself and it's not your fault. It was an accident, no one here blames you."

A scoff from Julianne's lips made Mel shoot her a dirty look. "Don't like to him, Melissa. It's his entire fault and I, for the record, blame him 100 percent for everything," she sneered in their direction.

"You know what, that's enough! I'm tired of you Julianne! I've put up with you for too long and given you the benefit of the doubt so many times when you didn't deserve it! If you really wanted to earn your way back into your daughter's life, maybe you should accept Troy as the father of your grandchild and move on! It's so simple and it's the only thing for you to do. Maybe then, Gabriella wouldn't resent you as much as she does!"

Julianne swallowed, staring back at her younger sister. After a second of taking in what had been said to her, she quickly removed herself from the room, emitting a sigh from Mel.

"I'm going to go talk to her, rather than insulting her. Are you going to be okay with her?"

Troy nodded, watching as Melissa disappeared and them hesitating before heading over to Gabriella's bedside himself. His gripped her hand in his own, feeling guilty as he stared down at her sick looking figure. "Brie, I'm so sorry," he whispered, hoping that even in her state she could hear his apology.

He felt a small, yet defined squeeze of his hand following his words to her and he smiled, knowing that for now everything would be okay. Or at least as far as he could hope, they would be.

* * *

**So I have to admit, I've been slacking. I finished this chapter right before I went to work Friday and I haven't done anything else since. But given that I worked the entire weekend, I'm kinda using that as my excuse because I feel like every time I'm on break, I work rather than staying home. Gotta get that cash! But anyway, the upside to working all weekend is that I don't have to go back to that hell hole...I mean wonderful area of retail (: until Friday evening. So considering I usually don't have excess amounts of homework during the week, I should be able to get a few chapters done before Wednesday, especially since I'm starting chapter 16 as soon as I post this. And who knows, maybe if I'm in a super good mood there may be more than one update this week. (;**

**So hope you enjoyed and I shall see you next Sunday, 12.2.12! (December finally!)**

**OH! And does anyone watch SNL? Last night I got home just in time to see it and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was hosting (it was last weeks rerun) but MY GOD! THAT MAN IS HOT! He did the Raining Men skit from Magic Mike and if you've seen the movie you know which one I mean and I almost fainted (luckily I was already laying in my bed). But gee wiz man I just...gosh I'm blushing right now just typing this. Anywhoo...**

**REVIEW! **


	16. Chapter 16

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_Not much of a mother she's been lately."_

"_You have no place to talk, you little pervert!"_

"_Pervert?" Troy asked, trying to keep his anger in check. _

"_Yes! That's what you are; a pervert! You are a grown man that had sex with my 17 year old daughter and got her pregnant. You're lucky I don't press charges against you."_

_**xx**_

"_What did the tests say?"_

"_Well for a head injury, we expected her to have a significant amount of blood loss, but due to the way she fell and the thickness of her hair, there was enough to clot the blood well enough before we were able to sustain it ourselves. The gash however, was quite deeper than we'd expected and we definitely know that at this point she's got a concussion, but we're not positive what else the injury has caused."_

"_And the baby?"_

_We're still running the tests in that department. As far as we can see, she didn't suffer and injuries there, but she did land on her back and we're checking to be sure everything as far as the vertebral and cervical areas have not been sprained or cracked in the process. We can tell from certain impact points that she had a pretty nasty fall. Hard on a petite body like hers."_

* * *

_**If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do all the rest have to drown too?**_

_**-Steven Wright**_

* * *

Chapter 16

Troy was back at the hospital the very next day, 11 o'clock on the dot. He would have already been here if the nurses hadn't made him leave last night. Visiting hours were from 11 to 9, so he'd made sure he was up earlier enough to shower and eat, along with having an extra hour of time to pack Gabriella some clothes he'd found that she left in his drawer for those nights that she'd slept over. He'd also gone off a hunch from her hand squeezing that maybe she'd be awake and opted to go get her some food from the local Waffle House, knowing if she was awake she wouldn't want any of the disturbingly awful hospital food.

When he'd walked into the waiting room, a big bag of clothes with her food tucked in between in his hands, the nurse who'd asked him to leave last night was sitting at the head of the nurses' station. She smiled brightly seeing him walk in.

"Good morning! Lovely to see you back so bright and early. What's in the bag?"

"Clothes."

"Not trying to sneak anything in here are you?" She questioned with a smirk

Shrugging sheepishly, Troy leaned against the desk, picking up the pen and signing in on the visitors' sheet.

"Well either way," she grinned, grabbing the sheet and typing in Gabriella's name into her computer to check the status of the patient before letting him go back. "You'll be glad to know that she's wide awake. Doctor reported it around 9 when he came to check on her at the start of his shift. She's probably waiting for you."

"Thank you," Troy wasted no time making his way down the hall back to her room. Pausing slightly before opening her door, he entered, relieved at the sight of her sitting up in the hospital bed, 2 pillows cushioning her back and a remote that controlled both the TV and called for a nurse if needed resting on her slight bump.

The color was definitely coming back to her, as she wasn't nearly as pale as when he'd seen her yesterday. The bandage was still wrapped around her head however and IV's still sticking from the veins in her right arm. She'd turned her head at the sound of the door opening and a bigger than life smile had appeared on her face, telling him she was most definitely excited to see him this morning.

"Troy," she breathed, moving the remote and motioning for him to come over to her.

Setting the bag down on the chair beside her bed, he stood at her side, pleased and yet a little shocked that she wasn't angry with him. Her arm reached out to grip his shirt and he leaned over ever so gently pressing his body to hers in a hug, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder while she pushed her nose into the skin along his neck. One hand rubbed her back as the other braced flat on the bed to hold him above her. Both of her hands came up, gripping his arms and holding him tightly to her, not wanting to let him go.

"Brie, baby, I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm fine, Troy."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered to her as her hand moved up to run her fingers through his hair.

"Stop apologizing, I'm fine. I feel fine, great even."

He pulled away from her, shaking his head. "You can't say that. You're sitting here in this hospital bed and it's because of me."

"I don't blame you."

"You should. Especially since your mother sure does. Everything that's happening to you is my fault."

"Forget what my mother says, Troy. Nobody can judge how I feel or whose fault this is but me, and honestly if you really want to get technically about things, it's partly my fault as well. It takes two to make a baby, you know."

Troy smiled, amazed by her logic and how she could try to turn around a bad situation just that easy. "So, I smell food, what's in the bag?"

He chuckled, standing up and going over to the bag and bringing it over. "I brought you clothes…"

"Forget the clothes, Bolton. I smell food and boy, am I hungry. They brought in some food from the cafeteria about an hour ago and my god, it was terrible. They had all this bland stuff, claiming it wasn't good for me to eat fatty foods and to watch my cholesterol intake and yadda yadda. I want some real food!"

"What makes you think I even have food for you. It could be for me."

"You wouldn't bring food for yourself and eat it in front of me. You're too nice for that."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "You think so?"

Batting her eyelashes and pouting her lips she reached until the hand with the IV was tugging on Troy's jean pockets, trying to pull him closer to her with the bag. "Please!"

He pulled out the white take away tray from the bottom of the bag and sat it on her knees, watching the excitement in her eyes as she opened it up to the pancakes, bacon, and home fries inside.

"YOU'RE A GOD! I love you, Troy Bolton."

Grinning as he watched her dig into her food, he couldn't help but notice how easily she'd said those three words to him. If only she knew how much they really meant for him. And he'd wondered if she'd ever say it in a complete heartfelt and serious manner.

And then he'd wondered if he would ever actually tell her how he felt.

**-XOXO-**

Two days later, Gabriella was back at her aunts' apartment. She'd been released earlier that morning and told to take it easy until her next check up. She'd been stressing both mentally and physically with the pregnancy and the doctor had reported a spike in her blood pressure that wasn't good at all for the baby.

Good news was that despite her head and back injury from her fall, the baby didn't suffer any from the impact and Gabriella was going home with medication prescribed to help with the headaches she'd be having for the new few days and well as ease the soreness that might come with her back.

Walking into the apartment with both Troy and Melissa behind her, Gabriella couldn't be any happier to get out of the hospital. "Oh, thank god. No more white walls and beds and hospital gowns."

Melissa laughed, dropping Gabriella's bag on the floor by the couch and heading to the kitchen.

Gabriella slowly did a semi-waddle to the kitchen table, Troy's arm holding her for support. He helped her sit down, pulling out her chair for her and making sure she was seated before he let go of her arm.

"How do you feel?" he asked her once he was seated beside her.

She shrugged. "Better than before. Pain medication is like a miracle worker, I'm telling you. I know I still have to be careful, but at least I'm just a little sore. I'd rather that over an achy back, swollen feet, and bloating any day."

"I'm glad you feel better," he nodded, glancing over to see that Melissa was on the phone ordering takeout, not paying then any mind. "You know we never really did talk about it."

"About what?" Gabriella asked, clearing going for innocence. She had been hoping that after everything, they could just drop it and move on, but things didn't look that way.

"You know what," he replied.

Sighing, she attempted to stand up, but it was a struggle without his help. "I really don't want to talk about this."

"And why not? It's obviously something that's bothering you. You're scared and there's a lot going on right now and instead of pushing me away, why can't we just talk it through?"

"Because I don't want to talk about it, Troy. I get what you're trying to tell me, I really do, but this is one of those things that I just have to do by myself. I have to worry myself because at this point, it's the only I can control. My feelings about this aren't going to go away and maybe, just maybe being a worry-wart about it is what I need to help me get past it all."

"But you shouldn't worry about it, you don't need to. It's bad for you; the baby."

"I can handle it, Troy."

"I just want to help."

She grabbed his hands, stopping him from further explain. "Believe me, I get that, but I don't need you worrying for me too. It's bad enough one of us has to. Plus I need you to worry about all the other things that I can't."

Gabriella attempted a smile that she thought would be contagious, but Troy just stared on at her looking lost in thought. "Please," she tried to plead with him.

"Can you at least let me apologize?"

She shook her head. "For what? For trying to help me out and get your point across? I know already and I don't blame you for the accident, I already said that. I shouldn't have tried to push you away. Either way, it was an accident and I'm okay."

Troy turned his head from her then, having an internal battle with himself.

"Then can do me one favor. You don't even have to give me an answer right away or even agree at all, but just tell me you'll consider it. At least think it over for a few days."

She nodded, hoping that it wouldn't be something to do with him continuously beating himself up over the situation. But what he would propose to her next, she would have never expected to come out of his mouth.

"Move in with me?"

* * *

**Whoa?! Where's a guy like Troy in my town when I need it? All the guys around here want to be your best friend one minute and then want to have sex with no strings attached the next...or is it just the guys I talk to? **

**So I started a new story, I know bad idea with the 10 unfinished stories on my laptop, but I can't stop the ideas that flow through my head. After seeing Breaking Dawn my head is venturing into maybe doing a Twilight fic or a HSM/Twilight crossover IDK, but I have this journal I take to school and I keep track of ideas and jot down notes when I get bored in class during notes and my teachers drone on about nothing, so maybe I'll actually be able to start this story and finish it and not get sidetracked like the others. Soo..**

**OH YEAH! Uhm let me know if you guys think they should have a boy or girl, just add it in your review or something because I think I might need it for Chapter 17. Thanks (:**

**REVIEW until 12/9/12**


	17. Chapter 17

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_You'll be glad to know that she's wide awake. Doctor reported it around 9 when he came to check on her at the start of his shift. She's probably waiting for you."_

_**xx**_

_You're sitting here in this hospital bed and it's because of me."_

"_I don't blame you."_

"_You should. Especially since your mother sure does. Everything that's happening to you is my fault."_

"_Forget what my mother says, Troy. Nobody can judge how I feel or whose fault this is but me, and honestly if you really want to get technically about things, it's partly my fault as well. It takes two to make a baby, you know."_

_**xx**_

"_Can you at least let me apologize?"_

_She shook her head. "For what? For trying to help e out and get your point across? I know already and I don't blame you for the accident, I already said that. I shouldn't have tried to push you away. Either way, it was an accident and I'm okay."_

"_Then can do me one favor. You don't even have to give me an answer right away or even agree at all, but just tell me you'll consider it. At least think it over for a few days."_

_She nodded. _

"_Move in with me?"_

* * *

_**Look up…and see them. The teaching stars, beyond worship and commonplace tongues.**_

_**-Dorothy Dunnett**_

* * *

Chapter 17

"You want me to what?"

"Move in with me," Troy repeated. "I mean, we'll have to figure out the living situation sooner or later, probably best at sooner."

"Is that the only reason you want me to live with you? For the baby."

Shaking his head. "Don't read into it. Brie, it would be easier to raise our kid together, living together, but that's only a plus. If I had to, I'd make it work if we couldn't live together, but why do that when we can make it easier?"

Not knowing what to say, Gabriella stared back at him, contemplating the situation.

"It's not news that I love you, Gabriella and at this point, whatever the relationship we have doesn't matter. I may sound desperate and pathetic and it kind of sounds like I'm begging, but I want to do this the right way, I want to be with you and tell people that I have a child with my girlfriend not my ex-girlfriend. I want to be there every step of the way; from day one to when I can't anymore. And I…"

Gabriella silenced him automatically by squeezing his hands and murmuring a shh for him to shut up. "Stop talking," she smiled. "You're rambling and however cute it may be, I need to say something too."

He nodded, swallowing and hoping she wouldn't flat out tell him no.

"I want to move in with you," she spoke carefully, "But…I don't want to do it just yet. I want to talk to Aunt Mel about it and I kind of want to wait until the baby is born and after I've graduated high school so it'll be easier. But if I'm going to move in with you, you have to promise me something."

"Anything."

"We can't…live with Chad, Zeke, and Jason forever. Especially not with a kid. So promise me we'll save up for our own place. Just the three of us."

"Is that a yes?"

She nodded at seeing his face. "It's a yes with conditions!"

"Either way it's a yes, am I right?"

"Sure, why not," grinning at the excitement in his eyes.

And before she could say anything else, Troy wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, making sure he was careful not to hurt her or the baby in the process.

Giggling, Gabriella gripped onto his arms tightly before he set her back down on the ground, pressing his forehead against her own. "What does this mean for us, then?"

"It means we work on it."

"Work on it?"

She nodded. "And then we see where it goes."

Troy smiled, pulling her in for a hug. It was the least he could ask for right now; to be given a chance. He wanted to make things right after all that happened and now was his chance.

**-XOXO-**

April 19th. 2 months before Gabriella's due date, which puts her at exactly 7 months pregnant. She lay across the cold paper covered table in the examination room with her legs up and opened for all in the room to see between.

Luckily there were only two people in the room, both of which had already seen, and only one was actually concerned with looking down there at that moment.

"Well," Dr. Thorne spoke, pulling her head away from Gabriella's privates. "Everything looks good down there. Normally with someone your size and age, I'd be worried about you going into premature labor, but you're nowhere near dilation, water breaking, or contractions. While that's good news to hear, I am however concerned with your weight gain."

Gabriella bit her lip, glancing over at Troy who was sitting quietly out of the way.

"At this rate, the baby looks to be a bit underweight. And I'm not saying that's a completely bad thing or that I want you to start eating for a country of starving children, but just like a premature baby, an underweight baby does also have risks. Lack of body weight may contribute to deformation. Some parts of the body may be underdeveloped or may never be developed at all. So I know that at times, you may not be hungry or just feeling bad overall, but try to eat at least 3 times day. And don't worry about what you're gaining, let me monitor that okay. Because I do promise, your body will go back once you have the baby with normal eating and exercise, so you needn't be afraid to gain in the meantime."

Gabriella nodded. "I know I said before I didn't want to know what we're having, but is it too late to change my mind and find out?"

"You want to know?" Troy asked from his seat. His first word since saying hello when they came in.

"Well yeah, I figured if we have to get a room and stuff ready, we might as well know what we're having. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's really up to you, but I wouldn't mind."

"Okay then," Dr. Thorne smiled, turned on the ultrasound machine and bringing out the cold jelly. "Just a second." After taking the probe and rubbing the jelly with it, the blob that was there baby appeared on screen accompanied with sound of its heart beat. "There he is."

"He?"

Dr. Thorne chuckled. "No, I'm sorry; I'm just so used to using that in general sense."

"So it's a girl?" Troy asked.

"I haven't looked yet," she smiled. "Let me just make sure the baby's in the right position."

She moved the probe around for a few extra seconds; seconds that felt like minutes in Gabriella's mind. "Okay there we are... you're having a baby boy. Congratulations."

Gabriella smiled, turning to Troy. "I get a mini you, huh?"

Troy rolled his eyes. "I'd prefer a mini you, but I'll take what I can get."

Smiling at their banter, the doctor quickly pointed out the appropriate parts that had to do with gender, before wrapping it up and giving the young girl a tissue to wipe off her stomach and putting away her equipment. "I've got some pictures to mark this appointment, but before you go, I've got one more thing to talk about with you."

Sitting up and pulling down her shirt, Gabriella held Troy's hand as Dr. Thorne sat in front of them. "Now that you're so far along, I'd like to see if we can continue your schooling from home? I don't think you'll go into premature labor, but I just want to be precautious and given the stress you were under before, I think it would be better to get a break while you can. It'll be boring at first, but it's more time to yourself and I think it'll give you a way to be fully prepared when he gets here, okay?"

Gabriella sighed, both Troy and Dr. Thorne knowing by the look on her face that she wasn't really fond of the idea, but agreed with a nod nonetheless. "Yeah, no problem."

"I'll write you a note for school, the receptionist will have it ready for you by the time you leave. And of course I'll see you in another 2 weeks and then every week starting mid-May."

Troy helped Gabriella off the table and they made their way down the hall back to the receptionists' desk. After getting her letter and a folder to add to the rest of the pictures they'd gathered, Troy led her out of the office and into the bright spring sunlight.

It was then that she stopped and turned to him, smiling bright and closing the distance between the two as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips lightly to his. Closing his eyes and getting deep into the kiss, Troy almost forgot where they were until she pulled back and beamed at him, causing him to smile back.

"A boy!" She shrieked with excitement, pushing herself away from him and semi-skipping as best as she could at 7 months pregnant to his car, Troy following behind happily.

* * *

**Hey guys! My mood this week is like a million times a million. Monday when I got home from school, I opened up my acceptance letter to my top school USC Aiken! I have been on cloud 9 all week and super excited and just...no words can express. Of course that's where I'll be in the fall so next year is pretty much all set for me! (:**

**Moving on, I really wanted to make the baby a girl, but you guys wanted a boy and I was able to start looking at some really cute names and stuff, so I wanted to give you want you wanted. And believe me that's all thanks to my good mood. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm already working on the next two so until 12.16.12...REVIEW!**

**xxTheRainWillFallxx**


	18. Chapter 18

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_I want to move in with you," she spoke carefully, "But…I don't want to do it just yet. I want to talk to Aunt Mel about it and I kind of want to wait until the baby is born and after I've graduated high school so it'll be easier. But if I'm going to move in with you, you have to promise me something."_

"_Anything."_

"_We can't…live with Chad, Zeke, and Jason forever. Especially not with a kid. So promise me we'll save up for our own place. Just the three of us."_

"_Is that a yes?"_

_She nodded at seeing his face. "It's a yes with conditions!"_

"_Either way it's a yes, am I right?"_

"_Sure, why not," grinning at the excitement in his eyes._

_**xx**_

"_What does this mean for us, then?"_

"_It means we work on it."_

"_Work on it?"_

_She nodded. "And then we see where it goes."_

_**xx**_

"_Okay there we are... you're having a baby boy. Congratulations."_

_Gabriella smiled, turning to Troy. "I get a mini you, huh?"_

_Troy rolled his eyes. "I'd prefer a mini you, but I'll take what I can get."_

"_A boy!" She shrieked with excitement_.

* * *

_**The angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.**_

_**-George Eliot**_

* * *

**Chapter 18**

Gabriella smiled as she sat on her bed, looking over the items that she'd just purchased. She'd found 2 sleepers, a bundle of footed one pieces, graphic bodysuits, 2 baby blankets, a teddy bear, and even a diaper bag complete with a little pad for public diaper changes. Surprisingly enough it didn't cost her as much as she'd initially thought, but considering she wasn't anywhere near done getting ready for the baby, she knew that this was nothing compared to the big things. I guess it was a good thing both Troy and her Aunt Mel were going to help, as well as Gabriella having saved quite a bit in her account over the years from summer jobs and babysitting.

Spreading them out across the bed, she couldn't help but getting a little emotion as her eyes scanned over each piece. She couldn't believe she was having a baby, a baby boy at that. In less than 2 months, she would have another human being that was both part of her and Troy to look after and take care of. There was going to be a little person that depended on her; its entire life would depend on her.

If you would have asked her years ago if she would see herself falling in love at 17 and having a baby after all she'd been through, she was sure she'd be able to tell you that would never happen, not in a million years, but here she was. And the worst part about that was she wasn't even with the father of her child, no matter how understanding and friendly they were to each other. She'd tried to push that into the back of her mind, but it kept rearing its ugly head, invading her thoughts and making her feel as if she was a monster for having a baby out of wedlock and not even being in some sort of committed relationship.

She wiped a few tears that had leaked their way through and dripped down onto her cheeks, just as there was a knock on her open door and in entered her Aunt.

"Hey, how you doing."

Sniffling a bit and trying to cover up her emotions, she sent a cautious smile Melissa's way. "I'm fine why?"

"No reason, just you don't seem all that fine."

Gabriella shrugged. "Just…taking it all in, I guess. What about you? I feel like every time you come in here to ask me if I'm okay, you always have an ulterior motive."

Melissa smirked. "Well sorry to disappoint, but I just wanted to make sure my niece and great-nephew were doing okay."

"We're fine, a little too excited but fine, I promise."

"Good, because I actually do have news."

"Aunt Mel! What happened to all that bull-crap you just fed me?"

She shrugged in response. "I didn't want to worry you, and I still don't, it's nothing big, trust me."

"What is it this time?"

"I just wanted to inform you that I set up your online school stuff today. You'll have a tutor come twice a week to help you out and then everything else is done through the online system. You'll start in two weeks and go from then until graduation, given that you keep up with the work. They're being generous with you seeing as how you're having a baby, so knowing you and how much you want to be at Stanford next fall, you're not going to screw around and mess this up. Stay focused and on the right track, and not only will you be a Stanford in the fall, but you'll actually walk with your friends if you can complete the work on time."

"I can walk? I thought they were going to send me my diploma in the mail?"

"If you finish the online course at least a week before graduation, they'll make sure you walk across that stage."

Gabriella's mouth dropped open. "Can I start now?"

Melissa laughed. "Oh, you wish. Now you're all for it huh?"

"Hell yeah! It'll be much easier than trying to get up and actually go to school each day. I can do everything I would do there right here from the bed!"

"Yeah okay. I'm going out, need anything?"

"Where are you going?"

Melissa shrugged. "Meeting a friend. I'll stop at the grocery store afterwards."

"A friend huh?"

"Shut up."

"Seriously. Is this friend a guy?"

"Who is the adult here?"

"Aunt Mel's got a date!"

"It's not a date, I met him at the coffee shop in line the other morning and he asked if I wanted to go to open mic night with him tonight, that's all."

"Ooh, so he's the artsy type! Is he cute?"

Melissa hesitated for a second before she sighed, giving in. "Extremely, he's got the most gorgeous hazel eyes and…if I don't go now, I'll be late," she finished, looking at the clock.

"Then by all means, go! I'll be fine; I'll probably make some dinner in a bit and then catch up on the DVR before going to bed."

"You sure?"

"I'll be fine, go ahead! But…" Melissa stopped to stare at her for a quick second. "You have to promise me that you'll tell me all about it tomorrow."

"Deal," Melissa answered with a smile. "Have a good night kid. See you in the morning."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" she called after her aunt.

"Or haven't already done!" Melissa called back. "And sweetie that's a long list, I know."

"Goodbye," Gabriella called back again, rolling her eyes as she heard her aunt's laugh followed by the door closing.

A little later, after making a simple meal of Easy Mac and Cheese and corndogs, Gabriella was curled up on the couch, in a sweatshirt and flannel pajama pants, blanket covering her legs, remote on the arm of the chair, and a tub of ice cream on hand as she watched the latest episode of The Vampire Diaries.

In the middle of an intense and shocking love scene between Elena and Damon, Gabriella was interrupted by the buzzer on the door sounding. Pouting at having to pause her show, Gabi stood – not without difficulty – and made her way to the door.

Opening the door, she came face to face with a slightly older man, probably no older than 40 with a face full of black and slightly grey hair.

"Hello? Can I help you?" she asked, confused to the man at the door and what he could possibly want with her.

"Are you Gabriella? Gabriella Montez?"

Raising an eyebrow, she carefully nodded. "Who's asking?"

"I'm Carlos Montez. I'm your father."

* * *

**This is short I know, but believe me there's much more to come, especially considering I just stuck you guys with a huge cliffy at the end (; ****I'm posting this now because I have to work until 11 tonight and won't get home until midnight or so and then I have exams the whole rest of the week. The good part about that is no homework and my last day is Thursday, so I will be working on some chapters this week and I might even post a chapter for Christmas Eve and Christmas idk. You'll have to wait and see. So hope you enjoyed it, review and until next Sunday 12.23.12 (closer to the big XMAS!)**

**Oh and my prayers go out to those involved in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting and to the people of Newton. It is really something tragic and I honestly was beyond shocked that it happened. I got home from school and it was all over the news. SNL did a tribute last night and I thought it was amazing and if you don't know what I'm talking about...you either don't live in USA or you've been under a rock or living in a hole the past two days, so better go Google it now. **

**OH! the outfits and things for the baby is in my profile under AA ch 18 link, and also I don't on TVD, but I wish I did because this weeks episode had me reeling! Okay, off to work I go, enjoy your week!**

**~xxTheRainWillFallxx**


	19. Chapter 19

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

_If you would have asked her years ago if she would see herself falling in love at 17 and having a baby after all she'd been through, she was sure she'd be able to tell you that would never happen, not in a million years, but here she was._

_**xx**_

"_Are you Gabriella? Gabriella Montez?"_

_Raising an eyebrow, she carefully nodded. "Who's asking?"_

"_I'm Carlos Montez. I'm your father."_

* * *

**_When we argue for our limitations, we get to keep them._**

**_-Evelyn Waugh_**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Gabriella was at a loss for words. "I…my…what?"

"I'm your father," he smiled at her hesitantly, but she wasn't about to play happy with this guy. Turning around without a word, she slammed the door shut, staring back it as if she'd just seen a ghost.

"Gabriella!" He called through the door in his thick Spanish accent. "Please open the door."

"Go away!"

"Hija…"

"Don't call me that! You're not my father!"

"But I am! Gabriella, please, just open the door."

Yanking the door open in frustration and anger, Gabriella could almost feel the steam coming from her head as she spoke to him. "My father died 3 three years ago. If you want to come up with a lie about being my father, maybe you should check up on your stuff first."

"Gabriella, stop!" He said, reaching out and gripping her arm, instantly making her push at him. "Gabriella Elaine Montez, just stop it and listen to me!"

"You think because you know my name, that's going to change anything?" she asked, tugging away from here. "Leave before I call the cops, you creep."

"I…" She slammed the door again before he could argue with her and seconds after, she heard his continuous banging. "Gabriella, please!"

Frustrated and unable to stop herself from getting emotional at the situation, Gabriella picked up her cell phone and shakily hit speed dial, crying as the phone rang.

"Yeah?" The voice on the other end answered groggily.

"Troy I need you. Can you get over here now?"

"What's going on?"

"I…I don't know. There's this man at the door and I don't know why I opened it but now he won't leave and…"

"Are you safe?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm in the apartment. The door's locked but he keeps banging on it and screaming my name. Troy he's really creeping me out."

"Stay where you are and call the police, I'll be there soon okay?"

She nodded, but then stopped, realizing she couldn't be shy because he couldn't see her. "Please hurry."

She didn't need to say any more before he immediately hung up and Gabriella dialed 911, the sound of Carlos banging on the door still being heard.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"There's a man outside my door, claiming to be my father and he won't leave me alone. I'm alone and I'm 17 and I'm pregnant, please."

"Miss, we're tracking the call and we have a unit on the way, would you like me to say on the line until they get there?"

"Yes, please."

A short 5 minutes later that seemed liked forever, Gabriella heard a loud grunt from the hall, the man's pleads and banging having stopped a few seconds before. Hesitantly, wondering if the police had already showed up, she walked over to the door, peeking out of the peep-hole before, opening the door in a panic. "Troy!"

The man was currently laid out on the floor, Troy on top of him, senselessly beating the crap out of him. "Troy, stop, the police are on their way."

"Fucking bastard," she heard him muttering as he continued to punch away showing no mercy.

"Troy!"

"Police!" An officer came around the corner, another hot on his tail as one struggled to pull Troy up and the other grabbed onto Carlos. Melissa came from around the corner just seconds after.

"What the hell is going on here?" She looked at a terrified Gabriella, a fuming Troy, two confused police officers, and froze when she finally caught the last face in the hall. "Carlos?"

"You know him?"

Melissa sighed, nodding and causing the police to let both guys go, Troy instantly rushing over to Gabriella as Melissa explained everything to the police.

**-XOXO-**

"Thank you officer, I really appreciate it, and I'm sorry about the confusion," Melissa spoke as she stood at the door almost a half an hour later with the police officer.

"That's okay, just doing our job. Don't hesitate to call us back if you have any issues."

"Will do, thank you."

"You have a good night, ma'm." He tipped his hat to her before walking out.

"You too," she smiled politely, closing the door behind him and looking back to the figures standing in her living room. "We've got a lot to talk about."

Gabriella sat in the corner, curled up with her blanket again on the loveseat; Troy perched next to her on the arm of the chair. "You think?"

Troy rubbed her arm, attempting to calm her frustration as he eyed the man in the corner of the room, nursing a bloody nose and a bruised eye.

"Gabriella, there's a lot of things regarding your past that your mother didn't tell you. I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell you, but this is one of them."

"What's going on? Who is he?"

"Carlos…is you father. Your biological father."

"I told you," Carlos stepped in, but Troy was quick to stand up only to be placated by Melissa hand as she stopped him.

"Troy please. Carlos, let me talk to her."

Gabriella sniffed and wiped her eyes, one hand resting on her abdomen and the other gripping onto Troy's bicep. "What do you mean, my biological father?"

Sitting down across from her niece, Melissa rested her elbows on her knees, placing her hands on the young girl's lap. "Joseph wasn't your father, but technically he is related to you."

"I don't get it?"

"He was your uncle," Carlos spoke up. "I am your father!"

"Carlos!" Melissa snapped, her hands coming up to message her forehead. "Gabriella it's a complicated story…"

"It can't be that fucking complicated if you all decided to keep it from me for all these years!" she snapped, causing Melissa to sigh.

"It wasn't my decision to make keeping this from you. Your mother thought it would be best…"

"Oh, my mother again huh? Everything always leads back to her. What hasn't she lied to me about? What has she done right by me?"

"Now that's not fair," Melissa spoke sternly. "I admit she's done some things that have been wrong, but she's done the best she can by you and seeing as how you didn't turn out bad at all, that's saying something."

"Your mother was a wonderful woman," Carlos added in his own two cents shortly before Melissa turned to pounce.

"No one asked you! And if you thought she was such a great woman, why'd you leave in the first place?"

"She cheated on me!"

"Can we stop, please, and explain to me what's happening? How are you my father? And if you're my father then who the hell is Joseph and why was he pretending to by my dad? Stop lying to me and just tell me the truth."

Melissa looked over at Carlos, taking a step back. "I think you should tell her."

He nodded before moving closer to his daughter, who hesitantly stared back at him. "Gabriella, your mother and I met in college. She was the type of woman who did great, she was going somewhere and she was smart and beautiful and for us it seemed like pretty much love at first sight. And everything between us was fine, perfect even."

"But?"

He sighed. "Then your mother admitted to me that she had developed feelings for my brother. And after that she never tried to hide it. She'd flirt with him in front of me and I just couldn't stand to be in the room with them anymore.

"We became distant and your mother spent more time with Joe, claiming that he was just a friend; her best friend. One day, however, she came to me crying and feeling bad, telling me she'd cheated on me; she'd slept with him. At that point I knew that we were officially over. I dropped out of school and I moved to Washington so I wouldn't have to face her. And for a while, my life was pretty okay. It was short lived because soon enough your mother had called me to tell me she was pregnant, with you, and she wasn't sure who was the father and I honestly didn't want to come back to find out. I stayed in Washington and told her to let me know when she found out.

"When you were born, I came home, hoping to reconcile with your mother. I visited her in the hospital and she told me the paternity test had come back and I was your father, but seeing Joe and Julianne together, it didn't make sense for me to be there. They'd formed a relationship and he was beyond excited about your arrival even though you weren't his. Who was I to destroy that? I told your mother it'd be better if we let everyone believe Joe was your father."

"But why?"

"It was easier that way. What were we going to tell you when you got old enough? That I'm your father, but Mom is in love with your uncle. It was easier for you and for them if I just decided to stay out of your life all together. They were in love I wasn't going to stop them. I figured no matter how much I'd loved your mom, I didn't want to be around her after she'd broken my heart."

"Did you even…did you see me?"

He nodded. "Once. You were in the nursery and I came and saw you through the glass window. You were so tiny and red and you hadn't even opened your eyes yet. And just looking at you I knew that you'd have a better future with Joe as your father. So I went back to Washington, I met a woman and I started my own family with someone who loved me as much as I loved her."

"And you didn't think not once that I might want to know the truth?" Gabriella asked, the hurt showing clearly in her chocolate brown eyes that matched Carlos' perfectly.

"I wanted to tell you, but it just never made sense. Even after the accident, I came back to Albuquerque to offer my condolences to Julianne and see my family for the first time in 15 years and we talked about telling you. She wanted you to know because you'd been so angry and depressed with Joseph's death, but I chickened out. I was scared of what you'd think of me and what you might say. You had just started high school and the man you'd know all your life to be your father had just passed, I didn't want to make things any more complicated, so I came to the funeral, sat in the back and after that I was headed straight back to Washington."

"So why now? What was so important that you finally decided I was worth seeing?"

"She told me you were pregnant. Figured I'd want to talk to you, get to know my grandchild…"

"And you thought I was going to welcome you just that easily? You abandoned me because things got hard, rather than working it out and getting to know your own child. Even when you had the chance, you turned it down. You didn't care, you don't care about me!"

"I do…"

"You don't! Because if you did, it wouldn't have taken you damn near 18 years to find me and say something. You couldn't stay for me, but you could have a whole new family, right?"

"Gabriella, it's not like that."

"It is like that! You didn't have time for me. And just like you didn't have time for me 18 years ago, I don't have time for you. Don't bother trying to get to know me now and don't even think I'm going to let you see my son when he's born. You don't deserve to call yourself my father and to be honest, if that's all you came here for, you can turn around and go back to Washington and your other family right now, because there's no welcome for you here."

She got up and stormed away, the sound of the bedroom door being slammed a minute later.

* * *

**Okay so I have to admit, I said I would be typing all week, but I only did half a chapter ): With all the Christmas excitment, midterms at school, working extra shifts and watching One Tree Hill, I just didn't get around to it...But on the plus side, I'm midway through season 5 on Netflix (I LOVE NALEY!) and I still have a whole week more to write. **

**But I did just get my new iPhone today and I've spent like 5 hours getting intimate with it and me and Siri are like sisters now (: I'm working until Wednesday but that means I still have Wednesday after work, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday because idk what my schedule for next week looks like so please don't give up on me yet. And if i don't get the chance to say it on the actual day, **

**MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!**

**~xxTheRainWillFallxx**


	20. Chapter 20

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_Go away!"_

"_Hija…"_

"_Don't call me that! You're not my father!"_

"_But I am! Gabriella, please, just open the door."_

_**xx**_

"_Carlos…is you father. Your biological father."_

"_What do you mean, my biological father?"_

"_Joseph wasn't your father, but technically he is related to you."_

"_He was your uncle," Carlos spoke up. "I am your father!"_

_**xx**_

"_Everything between us was fine, perfect even. Then your mother admitted to me that she had developed feelings for my brother and she'd cheated on me; she'd slept with him. When you were born, I visited her in the hospital and she told me the paternity test had come back and I was your father, but seeing Joe and Julianne together, it didn't make sense for me to be there. I told your mother it'd be better if we let everyone believe Joe was your father."_

_**xx**_

"_So why now? What was so important that you finally decided I was worth seeing?"_

"_She told me you were pregnant. Figured I'd want to talk to you, get to know my grandchild…"_

"_And you thought I was going to welcome you just that easily? You abandoned me because things got hard, rather than working it out and getting to know your own child. Even when you had the chance, you turned it down. You didn't care, you don't care about me!"_

"_Gabriella, it's not like that."_

"_It is like that! You didn't have time for me. And just like you didn't have time for me 18 years ago, I don't have time for you. Don't bother trying to get to know me now and don't even think I'm going to let you see my son when he's born. You don't deserve to call yourself my father and to be honest, if that's all you came here for, you can turn around and go back to Washington and your other family right now, because there's no welcome for you here."_

* * *

**_I'll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours._**

**_-Bob Dylan_**

* * *

Chapter 20

"Gabriella," Melissa called into the darkened bedroom the next morning. "I'm getting ready to head out to work, do you need anything before I go?"

Following a long silence, the older female wasn't surprised that she didn't get an answer and against her better judgment made her way into the room, moving closer to the bed and in front of the lump that was her niece's figure underneath the covers. "Do you want something to eat?"

"I just want to be left alone," came her deadpan voice from beneath her sheets.

"Look sweetie, I know how you're feeling…"

"You don't know how I'm feeling," her saddened voice cut off the one of her aunt's. "You have no idea how I feel right now, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't pretend that you do."

Nodding and swallowing quickly, Melissa wordlessly left the room and returned the door to its original close position. She gathered up the last of her things, grabbing her mug of coffee for the road and left for work, but not before sending a quick text to a familiar number as she stepped out the door.

Shortly after hearing the sound of the front door close and listening to the silence that filled the apartment, Gabriella pushed back the covers and made an attempt to move from her bed for the first time since she'd holed herself up in it last night.

Slowly making her way into the kitchen, she observed her surroundings, taking not that her Aunt Mel had left the toaster sitting out on the island along with setting the package of bagels and a knife and cream cheese close by.

She sighed, grapping the bagels and cream cheese and placing them back in there proper spots in the fridge. She set the knife back in the silverware drawer and unplugged the toaster, stuffing it back into the corner by the coffee pot where it belonged.

Glancing around the kitchen, she mentally debated with herself at what to eat, if she were going to eat anything at all. A big part of her was dying to just run back down the hall and crawl back into her black hole of a bed again, but the part of her that knew better felt her son kicking and knew that at least some form of sustenance needed to be put in her body.

Opening the fridge, not really looking for anything big, maybe a small breakfast sandwich like a hot pocket, or a granola bar, Gabriella scanned the fridge briefly before she heard the sound of the apartment door opening. Closing the fridge and jumping back, she turned, startled and then quickly sighed in relief when she saw who was standing in the foyer before her.

"Why are you here?"

Troy shrugged. "Mel wanted me to check on you. She said you were nonresponsive."

"How'd you get in?"

He shrugged again. "She gave a spare key a few weeks ago just to make sure there was something else with access to the apartment just in case you needed help or something."

"She gave you a key?"

He nodded. "Yep, but that's not the point. How are you doing."

She turned, going back to her scanning of the refrigerator. "As best one can after they figure out they've been lied to for nearly 18 years."

He sighed. "Gabriella, come on. I understand that you're angry, but I'm pretty sure your parents had a good reason to keep it from you."

"A good reason? Troy, my mother cheated on my father with my uncle and as a result, my father decided he didn't want anything to do with me. And I was raised by a man believed to be my actual father and no one tells me the truth until after he dies. Where do you find a good reason among that?"

"I'm just saying, try not to be angry. You don't know what they were going through, it was probably hard for them."

"And you do? What makes you think you know anything about my situation? I don't need you telling me how I should feel about this."

"I'm not…I'm just trying to help you. He's your father, just give him a chance."

"That's not what you said about your dad."

Shaking his head, Troy responded. "My dad is different. He apologized."

"So did mine, but you think that makes up for everything?"

"But my mom took him back. Sure he's been an asshole for pretty much my entire childhood and he cheated on my mom, but he owned up to everything and she forgave him. Isn't that what your dad is doing? He's owning up to the mistakes he clearly understands that he made."

"It's not the same."

"Oh but it is. You're just acting too stubborn to see that. He's half the reason you're alive and you're just ignoring him like he's nothing."

"He is nothing to me! And you can't seem to understand what I'm telling you. I don't want him as my father because I'm not ready to accept this. My father died on February 23, 2009 and there's no reversing that. Contributing sperm does not make him my father because he can't even tell you all the important things about me. He can't recall when I took my first steps, spoke my first words, got my first period, first kiss, first boyfriend, first heartbreak. He might as well be a stranger and if you don't see why then you might as well be a stranger too."

She turned, her back facing him finally grasping the bagels again from the fridge and settling on consuming that instead.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that."

"Do what?" she asked from her spot as she placed her bagel in the toaster and stared at it while she waited for it to pop back up.

"Shut me out. Of all people, I thought I could be the one you would open up to and share everything with, especially considering our personal situation right now, but you always do this and I should have known now would be no different."

Her jaw set as she turned to face him, the scowl clearly showing her unhappiness with him. "You have no right to judge me."

"Apparently there's no other way to get through to you."

"Well then don't bother," she turned as the bagel popped up, grabbing it and the knife that had been dipped in the cream cheese.

"Gabriella, please," he reached out and gripped her arm, stopping her from spreading the cream cheese but she quickly tried to resist him, struggling to release her arm from his grip.

"Let go please," at the sound of her voice, he knew that she was breaking. Her emotions were getting the best of her and as much as he hated to make her upset, he knew that this was the only way to get her to actually stop and listen.

"No," he refused quickly, and she struggled a bit more, her frustration evident. "Troy get off!" She snapped, her anger over taking her as well as the frustration. Troy could feel the tears coming.

"I'm not letting go until you actually get over yourself and listen to what I have to say."

"GET OFF ME!" She cried out, instantly giving up her struggle, Troy watching as the sobs shook her body although she wouldn't turn to directly face him.

Placing his arms around her body, he watched his prediction come true as she gripped onto his arms that securely encircled her and he legs gave out, tears running down her face. Holding onto her, he carried her to her bedroom and placed her on the bed, letting her bury her face into his shirt, wetting it with her tears. At this point, that wasn't important to him, but he knew he had to be her rock right now. He had to try to be one of the solid things in her live right now, given that she didn't have too many, if any at all.

**-XOXO-**

Julianne Montez was surprised to hear the sound of her doorbell on a late Sunday afternoon. She'd been cleaning up the house, making sure it was somewhat presentable when the sound disturbed her thoughts.

Opening the door, the last person she'd expected to see at her doorstep was Gabriella. Watching speechlessly as her daughter let herself in, definitely sporting a more defined and outlined bump than she had months ago when she'd last seen her.

"Starting off, I want you to know that I'm not here to forgive you," were the first things out of the younger brunette's mouth. "If anything, I'm even angrier with you now than I was before. You lied to me for 18 years, mom and I'm not even sure that title fits you anymore."

"Excuse me?"

"Biologically, you may be my mom and you may have legal right over more for a couple more weeks, but as far as I'm concerned, anyone who can't even tell me the truth about my father isn't a mother in my book."

Sighing, Julianne closed her eyes and bit her lip. "I knew I shouldn't have called him."

"And why not? He's my father right? Doesn't he deserve to know that the child he never wanted is screwing up her life?"

"Mija…"

"No!" Gabriella spoke sternly, stopping her quickly. "You don't have the right to call me that anymore. I can't believe you! Out of all the things you've done, this takes the cake! What else are you lying about? Are you even my mother or did you just pick me up from off the side of the road somewhere?"

"Stop it! Gabriella, I was trying to protect you! I've done everything in my power to make sure you had a great life and this is how you thank me…"

"Thank you?! Should I be thanking you right now? And lying to me about my family is not protecting me."

"Would you rather me have told you when you were five that daddy wasn't really daddy? That your father wasn't convinced you were actually his, so he ran off and started a new family, not giving a damn about either of us?"

"You're leaving out the part where you cheated on him with his brother! Remember that? How was he supposed to trust you after that?"

"How was I supposed to explain that to you?"

"You could've tried!"

"You were too young."

"Bullshit! I've known what sex was since I was 11, you could have told me then. I'm an honor student; I don't think I'd have a hard time figuring it out. Were you ever going to tell me or were you just going to dance around it for another 18 years and wait for me to find out on my own?"

Julianne paused, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I…I don't know what to say to you, Gabriella."

"Well lucky you. You know what; I'll save you from having to say anything to me ever again. I'm done with you."

And just like that, Gabriella turned on her heels, walking out on her mom, walking out on the house she'd grown up it, walking out on everything she'd ever known.

* * *

**I AM SO SO SO SO SORRY! Please don't hate me.**

**I completely forgot that I had to update because my brain lost track of the days. It's break and I've been working more than I've been home and that's a little upsetting to me because I go back to school Thursday (our last day was a Thursday, and they gave us one day, but can't give us 2 more? It doesn't make sense to go back for 2 days honestly) and I'm like beyond done with my job right now and so ready to quit. So bare with me for a little bit here and I'm going to try and make this work the best I can.**

**And among that, I thought you should know that I've been hung up on One Tree Hill lately. I watched the entire series from season 1 episode 1 to season 9 episode 13 in 3 weeks and I'm officially a Naley lover and let's just say number 14 now has competition with number 23 lol. Not gonna totally abandon HSM, but I may venture in OTH soon as well so just a heads up.**

**HAPPY NEW YEARS! Enjoy tonight, make the best of your last moments of 2012 and prepare completely for a rocking 2013!**

**REVIEW**

**~xxTheRainWillFallxx**


	21. Chapter 21

**Let's not even get into what happened to me last weekend or yesterday, but let me just say it's been a long two weeks. I'm hoping the fact that this chapter was 10 pages in word and that it has some significantly important events that it might make up for my lack of update lately. Anyway hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_Look sweetie, I know how you're feeling…"_

"_You don't know how I'm feeling," her saddened voice cut off the one of her aunt's. "You have no idea how I feel right now, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't pretend that you do."_

_**xx**_

"_I really wish you wouldn't do that."_

"_Do what?" she asked from her spot._

"_Shut me out. Of all people, I thought I could be the one you would open up to and share everything with, especially considering our personal situation right now, but you always do this and I should have known now would be no different."_

_Her jaw set as she turned to face him, the scowl clearly showing her unhappiness with him. "You have no right to judge me."_

"_Apparently there's no other way to get through to you."_

"_Well then don't bother."_

_**xx**_

"_Biologically, you may be my mom and you may have legal right over more for a couple more weeks, but as far as I'm concerned, anyone who can't even tell me the truth about my father isn't a mother in my book."_

"_Mija…"_

"_No!" Gabriella spoke sternly, stopping her quickly. "You don't have the right to call me that anymore. I can't believe you! Out of all the things you've done, this takes the cake! What else are you lying about? Are you even my mother or did you just pick me up from off the side of the road somewhere?"_

"_Stop it! Gabriella, I was trying to protect you! I've done everything in my power to make sure you had a great life and this is how you thank me…"_

"_Thank you?! Should I be thanking you right now? And lying to me about my family is not protecting me."_

"_I…I don't know what to say to you, Gabriella."_

"_Well lucky you. You know what; I'll save you from having to say anything to me ever again. I'm done with you."_

* * *

_**In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.**_

_**-Robert Frost**_

* * *

Chapter 21

"Oh, come on, could you at least look like you're happy?"

Gabriella sighed, smiling brightly at her best friend and then turning back to the shelves of clothing in front of her.

"Real happy, not pretend happy, you silly monkey. What's up with you anyway?"

"What do you think is up with me? I'm tired, Tay. I'm tired and cranky and I'm fat and I'm swollen. I can't see my feet, I can't bend over, I can barely stand up without the help of someone else, and I can't control my bladder, which reminds me I have to go AGAIN!"

Quickly looking around, Taylor spotted and bathroom and quickly shoved Gabriella in the direction, following closely behind. "Honestly, Gab, you haven't got long to go," she conversed; checking herself in the mirror was Gabriella was busy in the stall.

"Yeah, but you haven't seen long until you're pregnant."

"Gabi, your due date's next week. Besides, weren't you the one hoping and praying that the baby would hold out this long?"

"Strictly for legal purposes," the brunette answered as the sound of flushing filled the empty bathroom and she came out of the stall to wash her hands. "I only wanted him/her to make it until Monday and it's already Sunday and I have no signs of being anywhere near going into labor."

"I thought that was a good thing?"

"I guess it was, but now it's kind of annoying. By now, being so close to my due date, the baby won't be premature so at this point, I'm just ready for the birth. I turn 18 tomorrow."

"Which is why you should enjoy this while you can! Soon enough you'll have a little monster screaming its head off at you and you'll want all the time to yourself that you can get."

Gabriella laughed. "Maybe I just…"

"Just what? What happened, why do you look that that." Taylor eyed her friends frozen figure curiously. "And why are you…I thought you just went to the bathroom, is that…OH MY GOD!"

Gabriella's eyes went wide as she felt the wet spot that Taylor currently saw growing in her pants. "Shit. I guess I kind of jinxed that."

"Did you just pee yourself or is that what I think it is?"

"No, it's what you think it is. My water just broke."

"Well you sure didn't waste any time," Taylor smirked.

Rolling her eyes, Gabriella gripped onto the counter, pulling her cell phone out of her bag and hitting speed dial, instantly responding as soon as the expected had picked out. "We have a problem."

**-XOXO-**

"I'm looking for Gabriella Montez," Troy told the receptionist at the hospital. She quietly raised her head and nodded her head to the left, turning Troy's eyesight to the pregnant teenager currently sitting awkwardly in a waiting room chair with a huge wet spot on her jeans. Taylor was next to her, looking slightly annoyed. "Hey, you okay?"

"Heh, depends on your definition of okay. Taylor, stop bitching!"

"I'm not…"

"You're doing it in your head and its bothering me!"

Rolling her eyes, she turned to Troy. "I'll be getting some water, call me if anything new happens."

As she walked away, Gabriella groaned. "What good is she if she's just going to leave?"

"Brie…"

"And why am I still sitting out here? I thought she said she was paging Dr. Thorne immediately."

"Brie…"

"What if I were to have this baby right here in this chair?"

"Gabriella." He said, finally getting her to stop and listen. "You never answered my question. Are you okay?"

Sighing she frowned. "I don't know! I've been in this chair for 15 minutes and Taylor probably hates me and I'm not ready for this baby."

"Hey, it's gonna be okay…"

"No it won't! And I really wish people would stop saying that. Have you forgotten that if that baby is born before tomorrow, we have a huge custody issue?"

"Don't worry about that."

"How can I not worry about that? That's all that's on my mind!"

Troy sighed just as a nurse appeared in front of them with a wheelchair. "Ms. Montez, Dr. Thorne's ready for us to get you prepped."

"About time," Gabriella huffed, struggling to get out of the chair which resulting with her gripping Troy's arm as he pretty much lifted her from one chair to the other.

Smiling politely at the nurse as she started to wheel Gabriella down the hall, he hoped that the woman had already seen her fair share of pregnant women and that he wouldn't have to apologize for Gabriella's behavior later.

**-XOXO-**

"OH SWEET MOTHER OF GOD, YOU HATE ME!"

"Brie…"

"DON'T BRIE ME! You did this, oh God, you are never touching me again."

Troy stood speechless as he turned to Dr. Thorne worriedly and she smiled complacently. "She's just in pain," she soothed his unspoken worries. "Don't worry about it, she'll be all smiles with you again after it's over."

"The hell I will! I hate you Troy Bolton!" the petite brunette groaned through her teeth as she was hit by a painful contraction.

Taking her hand in his, ignoring the pain searing through it as she squeezed it as hard as she felt it. "Love you too," he muttered as he choose not to complain, knowing that what he was feeling from the squeeze was nowhere near whatever she felt from her contractions.

A few seconds later, with the last contraction behind her, Gabriella breathed heavily as Dr. Thorne checked her dilation again. "Do you think it's too late to change my mind for that epidural?"

Laughing, Dr. Throne removed her head from Gabriella's private area. "No, of course it's not too late, a little too early actually."

"Early?"

Nodding her head, Dr. Thorne let the stirrups down, gently placing Gabriella's legs flat on the bed again. "You're only 3 centimeters dilated, so you've still got a bit to go before I can give you the epidural."

Letting her head fall back against the pillow again, the teenager groaned in desperation. "How far does she have to be to get the epidural," Troy asked.

"At least 5 or 6 centimeters."

"And how long will that take?"

Scratching her head, she looked at the teenage girl and her boyfriend? baby daddy?- sympathetically. "Depends. Could take from 30 minutes up to 12 hours."

"12 hours?" Gabi moaned. "You've got to be kidding me! I can't go through another 12 hours of this."

"Hey it'll be okay," Troy spoke stroking her sweaty head softly.

Shaking her head and turning it away from him as she tried to overcome the pain of yet another unbearable contraction, she wasn't sure she could believe him this time around.

"Gabi, sweetheart, I came as soon as I could," Melissa said rushing into her niece's hospital room, still clad in her scrubs from her shift at the clinic.

"Aunt Mel! Thank you for coming," Gabriella smiled, reaching out and taking her aunt's hand as she pressed a kiss to her forehead in welcome.

Troy stepped back and away from the bed as Melissa tapped his arm, letting them know he was going to go update Taylor on Gabriella's progress.

"Where else would I be silly?" Melissa smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed, the smile on her niece's face grow even wider. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm having a baby," she answered sounding somewhat depressed.

"Well newsflash," Melissa teased. "You kind of are."

Giggling Gabriella turned her head and stared at the ceiling. "I know I said I didn't want to have the baby before my birthday, but I'm not so sure I can do this at all anymore, much less wait 12 hours for an epidural."

"Oh baby, how far along are you?"

"She said 3 centimeters. And that it could take up to 12 hours for me to get where I need to be to have the epidural. This is going to be the longest 12 hours of my life."

"It won't be that long sweetheart. I bet you in the next few hours, you'll be getting that epidural and things will be better."

"What exactly does few mean?"

"Maybe 2 or 3 at the most."

"UGH! That's still way too long."

"Hey, believe me when I say that I may not have kids, but I know that although you're in the worst pain of your life at this moment, that it will be worth it when you see your child."

Gabriella looked at her. "How do you know that feeling?"

"Because I saw your mom's face the day you were born. And the face of your dad, and I was beyond excited to have a niece that I could spoil the crap out of."

Laughing as she looked into her Aunt's face, Gabriella sighed tiredly as she felt another contraction starting. Maybe she was ready for this after all.

**-XOXO-**

"Well, Gabriella Montez, are you ready to give birth to a beautiful baby?" Dr. Thorne asked the teenager about 6 hours later. Three hours ago, she dilated enough to get the epidural. And now apparently she was dilated enough to have a baby.

Oh how it had all happened so fast.

"Now? Like right now?" Gabriella asked, Troy sitting in a chair at her bedside, now interested in the conversation.

Dr. Thorne laughed with an unsure look. "Did you want to wait another 6 hours?"

"No! No, it's just…" she paused, looking up at the clock, seeing that it was only just about 9pm. Meaning there was still 3 hours left before she was legally 18. "It's not my birthday yet."

Troy took her hand, trying to support her feelings, knowing exactly why she was worried but feeling as if she shouldn't be. He'd be behind her 100%, but ultimately, the decision was hers…or really her mom's at this point.

"Gabriella, there's no way to put this off any longer. We've got to take you to the delivery room now or we might be looking at facing some complications."

Nodding, she calming held onto Troy's hand tightly as a few nurses came in and wheeled her bed down to the delivery room. They prepped Troy along the way and quickly passed by the waiting room that held her Mom, Taylor, Chad, Jason, Zeke and surprisingly enough Carlos too. This was it. This was the moment her whole world was about to change.

Lying in the delivery room, a scrubbed up Dr. Thorne perched between her legs, as well as a scrubbed up Troy at her side, everything became a blur to Gabriella.

There had to be at least 2 or 3 nurses running about the room, preparing things, getting everything the doctor needed for delivery as well as making sure everything in the room was set for the arrival of a newborn baby.

She felt two more contractions before she heard Dr. Thorne's encouragement for her to push. In her haze, she squeezed Troy's hand, but not from pain since all she felt was pressure building up in her lower abdomen, but to keep herself awake.

There was a brief pause in between each declaration for her to push in which both Troy and the doctor counted to ten before she took a break from pushing, the feeling thoroughly overwhelming her as she was unable to fully focus on one thing with so many going on.

It was only with a sudden relief from her lower area and the loud cries that filled her eyes and took over the room did Gabriella fully shake herself from her dazed state. Glancing to Troy who was looking in awe over in Dr. Thorne's direction, she caught the tears sitting behind his eyes, threatening to fall at any moment now.

She looked down her body at her doctor seeing the slightly pinkish, bloodied, and gunky bundle in her arms, screeching it's lungs out blindly, kicking and reaching wildly. It was when she'd first laid eyes on her son, did she really understand how much her life had changed.

* * *

**So was it worth it? Let me know. And oh if you guys have got any ideas as far as names, feel free to review or PM them to me, I've got a few in mind, but I haven't really started the next chapter yet (I KNOW! Don't kill me) and I want to see what you guys think so REVIEW! They make me happy (:**


	22. Chapter 22

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

_What happened, why do you look that that." Taylor eyed her friends frozen figure curiously. "And why are you…I thought you just went to the bathroom, is that…OH MY GOD!"_

_Gabriella's eyes went wide as she felt the wet spot that Taylor currently saw growing in her pants. "Shit. I guess I kind of jinxed that."_

"_Did you just pee yourself or is that what I think it is?"_

"_No, it's what you think it is. My water just broke."_

_**xx**_

"_Believe me when I say that I may not have kids, but I know that although you're in the worst pain of your life at this moment, that it will be worth it when you see your child."_

_Gabriella looked at her. "How do you know that feeling?"_

"_Because I saw your mom's face the day you were born. And the face of your dad, and I was beyond excited to have a niece that I could spoil the crap out of."_

_Maybe she was ready for this after all._

_**xx**_

_It was only with a sudden relief from her lower area and the loud cries that filled her eyes and took over the room did Gabriella fully shake herself from her dazed state. Glancing to Troy who was looking in awe over in Dr. Thorne's direction, she caught the tears sitting behind his eyes, threatening to fall at any moment now._

_She looked down her body at her doctor seeing the slightly pinkish, bloodied, and gunky bundle in her arms, screeching it's lungs out blindly, kicking and reaching wildly. It was when she'd first laid eyes on her son, did she really understand how much her life had changed._

* * *

To live is like to love-all reason is against it, and all healthy instinct for it.

-Samuel Butler

* * *

Chapter 22

"He's beautiful," Gabriella whispered about an hour later as she held on to her baby boy. They'd cleaned him up as well as her and taken him for all his measurements and to check to make sure he was completely and after a clean bill of health he was back with his parents in the quiet hospital room.

"Just like his mother," Troy whispered back, too afraid to wake the sleeping infant in her arms.

Letting out a light giggle, she looked up at him as she shook her head. "I'm probably a mess right now, Troy."

"Doesn't matter, you're still beautiful to me."

"You don't have to try and impress me, Bolton. I just had your kid, I think we're past the flirting stage."

Smiling, he pressed a kiss to her forward, moving so that he was sitting right beside her, on the very edge of her bed, gazing down at the 5 pound 16 ounce bundle that was born at 9:24pm resting in her arms. "He really is beautiful."

Biting her lip, Gabriella glanced back up with a wide smile. "I told you! Who knew you'd father a cute kid."

"I resent that," he responded with a slight frown to her teasing. "Plus I thought we'd already established that it's your entire fault he looks like a heartbreaker already."

"If that's true, I'm gonna hate all those girls that start coming around once he's a teenager."

"You know we still need to come up with a name."

Realizing he'd brought her out of her fantasy, she sighed. "I know, it's just…"

"Knock knock," came a voice as well as a knocking sound from the door. Turning to the door that was cracked out, Melissa's face was seen poking through the crack. "You guys feel up to some visitors?"

Gabriella nodded tiredly as the door creaked open more. "Good, 'cause I brought friends."

Suddenly the barrage of people that they'd briefly seen when they'd gone by the waiting room came filing in the room, causing the new parents to smile in welcome. Taylor, Chad, Jason, Zeke, Julianne, Carlos, and even Jack and Lucille came walking in behind the proud aunt.

"Gee, I didn't know this many people would show up," Troy commented. "Guess it's a good thing the room is pretty big."

"Are you sure you're all supposed to be in here?"

Chad shrugged, from his spot where he came up next to Troy. "Probably not, but who cares. Plus I think the nurses were starting to get tired of all of us out there anyway. Congratulations man," he quickly shared a brotherly hug with Troy before getting closer to get a look at the newest member of the world.

Troy got up, greeting each person that had walked in the room. Melissa instantly came to her niece, asking for permission to hold her great nephew while Taylor came over to give Gabriella a hug and the guys talked animatedly with Troy and his parents.

As the baby was passed from Melissa to Taylor carefully a second later, Gabriella noted the hesitation of her parents in the doorway. "You can come in you know," she spoke up softly. "I mean technically he is in your custody."

"Gabri…"

"It's okay, Mom. I already knew the consequences and I knew this was a likely possibility. I was prepared and plus it's not like I could have magically stopped myself from going into labor. You hate this and you have to do what you need to do…"

"Stop." Julianne stepped forward, taking her daughter's hand in her own. "I do need to do what I have to do, and right now what I have to do is let you know that as the person that currently has full custody of your son for the next hour and a half, I'm handing over full parental rights to you and Troy."

Not believing what she had heard, Gabriella turned her shocked face to Troy to see him standing a few feet away, with his parents over his shoulders as he held their son. He was looking right at her with a smile on his face that told him he'd been paying attention to every word that had been said.

Turning back to face her mother, Gabriella squeezed her hand. "You don't know how much that means to me, Mom."

Julianne nodded. "I'm just…I know it won't make up for anything, but I'm so sorry for all you've been through because most of it I'm responsible for putting you through and when I really sit back and look at it, I don't know what I was thinking. You're my daughter and I always want the best for you, but I went about it the wrong way and I see that now."

Nodding, Gabi didn't stop her eyes from tearing. "But that doesn't make everything better, you know that?"

"I know…"

"This can't fix everything that's been said or done and I can't forget."

"I know…"

"And I won't just forgive you and pretend like nothings happ…"

"Sweetheart, I know! And trust me when I say I'm fully prepared to earn your trust back. I just don't want to be the bad guy in your eyes anymore."

"Enough mushy!" Chad interrupted suddenly, his voice pretty loud, causing Troy to shush him instantly. "Sorry. So what's the little guy's name?"

Opening her mouth, Gabriella was stumped as she looked at Troy who glanced back embarrassed. "Uh, we don't know yet."

"Better name him soon," his mom added in her input as she held her grandson. Crossing the room and handing him back to Gabriella. "I just wanted to tell you I'm in the same boat with your mom. I'm sorry for everything and I've already talked to Troy about it, but if you'll let me, I'd like to be a part of my grandson's life."

Nodding, all of the emotions from the various different events getting to her, Gabriella didn't have much to say anymore. "How about we give you two and the baby some space," Lucille suggested, ushering everyone out before Gabriella relaxed back across the bed.

Later that night, or early the next morning you could say, Gabriella's hospital room door creaked open gently as she turned her head in the direction to see who was entering the room.

A familiar face peeked around the side of the doorframe, checking to see if the young girl was asleep and Gabriella sighed heavily, notifying the person that she was in fact away.

"You can come in," she spoke to him softly and seconds later, Carlos pushed the door completely opening, stepping inside and then closing it behind him.

"How are you doing?" He asked her, that thick accent present as always.

"I'm fine."

"Where's the baby? And Troy?"

"Uhm, they took him back to the nursery and last checked Troy went too. He was going to check on him and then head home and get me some clothes for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"I get released. They don't need to keep me long, just overnight to be sure everything was okay."

"Ahh I see."

"Well, I know for a fact visiting hours are over, so how are you here?"

"Being the father of the patient gets you certain privileges," he smiled, not receiving an equal reaction back. "I wanted to talk to you alone."

"Okay well, we're here alone, so talk."

"Gabriella, I know you must hate me…"

"I don't even know you. I can't say I'm your biggest fan, but you can understand why with the way you show up sharing such big news as what you did."

"I know, sweet…Gabriella, I know that I do, but you have to understand why I did it. Your mother told me you were having a hard time and…"

"All thanks to her."

"She only wanted to protect you."

"Let's not start this again. What did you want to talk to me about."

Sighing, he rubbed his face. "I just wanted to offer my congratulations to you and Troy as well as say that I'm proud of you."

"For becoming a teen mom?"

"No, for overcoming all that you do."

She shook her head. "Trust me, it's not by choice."

"Well your father would be proud."

Looking directly into his eyes, Gabriella saw the regret. "You are my father, remember?"

"I may be your real father, but in all actually, Joe was your father. He was here for you, he raised you, and he took care of you when I didn't. So I could understand if you couldn't think of me that way, because in all honestly that man that you knew was your real father to you."

"Yeah, well he left me too."

"Not by choice," Carlos answered. "And knowing my brother, if he was still alive today, he'd be standing in this same position. Probably not apologizing, but he would also be proud of you."

"Yeah, but he's not here is he? And I'd really appreciate if you left too. I don't need you sticking around because you feel obligated. You didn't feel that way the first time around, so why now?"

Carlos nodded. "I could understand that. I'm sorry, for everything Gabriella. And I hope that one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me, but just remember that this is my fault not Joe's or your mother's. It's because of what I did that they had to do what they had to do to protect you, so don't put this on them."

Turning her head away, she made it clear that she was done talking and Carlos nodded wordless, walking over to place a quick kiss on her forehead before disappearing out the door and leaving Gabriella lost in her own thoughts for the rest of the night.

Bright and early the next morning, Troy walked into Gabriella's hospital room with a bag he picked up from her place that held clothes for both her and their newborn as well as a huge smile on his face.

"Hey," he grinned seeing the beautiful brunette sitting up in her bed, TV on, but her lost in her own thoughts. "What are you doing up so early, beautiful?"

As he kissed her lightly, she turned to look at him, giving a weak smile. "I'm think I'm far from beautiful right now."

Shooting her a look, he chose to ignore her comment as he set the bag down on the desk and pulled a chair up to the bed. "You never answered my question."

She shrugged. "I've kind of been up for a while, just thinking about stuff."

"Yeah, what kind of stuff?"

"My life, my family, baby names."

"Right, that does have to be done before we leave here today, doesn't it?"

She nodded. "The nurse told me they've filled out everything but his name and then all we have to do is sign off on the birth certificate and we can both be released."

"Any ideas?"

"A few, but I kind of want to run something by you first?"

Nodding, he sat down. "Shoot."

"I want to name him after my father."

"Carlos?" he asked, an eyebrow raising in shock and confusion.

"No, my _real _father. The one who raised me."

"Okay, so Joseph? What should his middle name be?"

Smiling, she shook her head. "I wanted Joseph as his middle name and Bolton as his last."

Grinning at her, Troy was interrupted by the nurse who came in the room, wheeling the little bed with their son inside as another nurse stepped in behind her holding the paperwork for his birth certificate.

"It's time!" she sang as she walked in. "Picked out that name yet?"

Gabriella nodded, biting her lip as she glanced at Troy. "Do you remember the name we talked about briefly before?"

After a second with a thoughtful look on his face, Troy responded. "Really? You want that?"

"Only if you do. I mean I think it fits."

Nodding, he turned to the nurse, taking the pen from her and writing their son's name down as the other nurse reached to take him out of his bed and pass him off to Gabriella. When Troy was finished, he walked back over to his family, sitting along the edge of the bed.

"It definitely fits," the nurse picked up the paper and smiled as she looked down at the name the young man had written. "Welcome to the world Christian Joseph Bolton."

* * *

**I hope you guys like this chapter because I can say there's maybe 1-2 more chapters left (maybe I'll be able to squeeze out 3), and then I'll post a new story that's almost finished (and actually almost finished this time) so let me know what you guys think and REVIEW for me please. And big shot out to BP who let me rant baby name ideas to her in text messages and was talking to me when I finally thought up the official name (:**


	23. Chapter 23

**_AN: Okay, so I'm aware that I am a terrible person and that the update I my profile over a month ago, turned out to be a lie because I did not update that weekend, but I am updating now! To be honest, after the funeral, I had so much make up work to do (for 2 freaking days) and I got busy and lazy and between that and work and just ugh! But at least I can say that while I wasn't updating, I was writing, so I hope that counts for something. I've actually already got this story done (there is one more chapter after this totaling out to 24 chaps) and then I already have 2 other stories that are halfway done each, as well as a new story that I completed 2 chapters of in one night and multiple stories written in a notebook that only need to be copied into microsoft and refined before posted. So at least I'm coming back with a vengeance! Anyway enough of my rambling, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! (:_**

* * *

Age Appropriate

_**Previously **_

"_It's okay, Mom. I already knew the consequences and I knew this was a likely possibility. I was prepared and plus it's not like I could have magically stopped myself from going into labor. You hate this and you have to do what you need to do…"_

"_Stop." Julianne stepped forward, taking her daughter's hand in her own. "I do need to do what I have to do, and right now what I have to do is let you know that as the person that currently has full custody of your son for the next hour and a half, I'm handing over full parental rights to you and Troy."_

_Gabriella squeezed her hand. "You don't know how much that means to me, Mom."_

_**xx**_

"_Your father would be proud."_

"_You are my father, remember?"_

"_I may be your real father, but in all actually, Joe was your father. He was here for you, he raised you, and he took care of you when I didn't. So I could understand if you couldn't think of me that way, because in all honestly that man that you knew was your real father to you."_

"_Yeah, well he left me too."_

"_Not by choice," Carlos answered. "And knowing my brother, if he was still alive today, he'd be standing in this same position. Probably not apologizing, but he would also be proud of you."_

"_Yeah, but he's not here is he? And I'd really appreciate if you left too. I don't need you sticking around because you feel obligated. You didn't feel that way the first time around, so why now?"_

_Carlos nodded. "I could understand that. I'm sorry, for everything Gabriella. And I hope that one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me, but just remember that this is my fault not Joe's or your mother's. It's because of what I did that they had to do what they had to do to protect you, so don't put this on them."_

_**xx**_

"_It's time!" the nurse sang as she walked in. "Picked out that name yet?"_

_Gabriella nodded, biting her lip as she glanced at Troy. He turned to the nurse, taking the pen from her and writing their son's name down as the other nurse reached to take him out of his bed and pass him off to Gabriella. When Troy was finished, he walked back over to his family, sitting along the edge of the bed._

"_It definitely fits," the nurse picked up the paper and smiled as she looked down at the name the young man had written. "Welcome to the world Christian Joseph Bolton."_

* * *

_**If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you love more richly those moments.**_

_**-Anne Morrow Lindbergh**_

* * *

Chapter 23

"You sure you're okay?" Troy asked when he helped Gabriella up. One hand was wrapped around her waist, while the other was holding on to her own hand.

"I'm fine," she said, pulling herself from his grip. "You really don't have to do that."

"I just want to make sure you're feeling okay."

She nodded, her arms resting on his biceps as she faced him, partly using him for support as she stood still on her own feet for the first time in about 48 hours. "I'm a little sore, but according to the nurses that's only natural after delivering a baby by natural birth."

"You're swaying, Gabi."

She rolled her eyes, letting go of him and moving over to the rolling bed Christian was sleeping in. "I'm okay, Troy. I thought you were supposed to be getting us ready to leave?"

"We'll I've got you, now it's time for this one," he replied walking over as she lifted him, careful not to wake him. The newborn was already dressed in the outfit they'd brought for him to come home in, with the blue hate and matching blanket from the hospital still wrapped around him. Even though it was pretty hot outside, after receiving advice from her mother, she was wary about exposing him to so many different substances and bacteria in the air.

Gabriella stood, holding her son, watching him sleep as Troy walked behind her to do the same. They both stood in silence, admiring the creature they'd created together when Melissa walked in the room and stopped short at the sight, a bright smile on her face.

"Okay, proud parents, you two ready to get going?"

They both nodded and Gabriella placed Christian in his car-seat attachment that Troy had brought in. Melissa went to pick up her great-nephew as Gabriella climbed in a wheelchair-par to hospital procedures and Troy pushed her out to the car behind her aunt and son.

It wasn't long after that the foursome was on their way home. Melissa could barely contain her excitement from behind the wheel and Troy kept shaking his head at her and glancing back at Gabriella as she gazed at their son. He was sure that she hadn't taken her eyes of the child that was barely a day old, but that was the best thing to him. Not only had Troy been attracted to this woman before, but now that she had his son, she was so much more appealing to him, both physically and emotionally.

When Gabriella glanced up to the front seat and caught Troy staring, she blushed, causing him to grin at her. But when their eyes locked, neither looked away. Neither could deny the emotion felt as they gazed at each other lovingly. Having a baby had brought them closer than they ever thought it would and this was just the beginning of a life together.

After breaking away from her stare with Troy, it was then that Gabriella noticed they were not on their way back to the apartment.

"Are we going back to your place, Troy?"

He smiled, sending her a look before shaking his head. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"Troy! Whatever you're up to, I can tell you it's not funny! Aunt Mel, I can't believe he's roping you into this."

"It's not supposed to be funny, Brie."

"Then where are we going?"

"You'll find out when we get there."

"Troy Bolton!"

"You are going to wake up our son," Troy scolded as he turned to her, his index finger touching his lips in a 'shh' motion.

"You little…"She cut herself off, glaring at him as he gave her a cheeky smile, while Melissa could only smile at their banter as she turned down a street and started to slow down.

"What are we…?" Gabriella trailed off as she looked out the window, taking in some of the buildings she saw. "These are beautiful. Are these apartments?"

Troy shook his head as they pulled up to a stop in front of one of them. "Condominiums, actually."

Both he and Melissa got out, Troy instantly opening the door for Gabriella while Melissa worked to remove Christian's car-seat.

"I…is that your car?" Gabriella questioned upon seeing the Hyundai Genesis parked next to a Kia Optima. "Wait, what are our cars doing here? Why would they….?"

Troy smiled and shrugged, waiting for her to figure it out.

"Troy Bolton, what is going on?"

"You get so worked up," he laughed. "I honestly thought you were smarter than that."

She promptly smacked his chest. "You tell me what you did right now or I swear I'll…"

"You see the condominium on the far right?"

"What?" She asked confused. "What about it? Troy, I really don't want to do this, I just want to go home…"

"We are home. It's ours."

"I'm tired and I…what? You didn't say that."

"I did."

"You didn't say what I think you just said."

He nodded. "I did. The condominium is ours."

"Ours? As in me and you and Christian?"

"That's the only way to be a family, right?"

She stood speechless, staring back into his blue eyes. "Troy, you didn't…I can't believe…you bought us a condo?"

He shrugged. "Rented, actually. With a loan from my parents which I will eventually have to pay back, but yeah technically it belongs to us for now."

She stood silent for a while, and Troy became a bit worried at her expression. He looked back at Melissa but she shrugged and motioned that she was going to bring Christian inside.

"Are you alright?" He asked her once they were standing outside by the car alone.

She didn't say anything, but instead just stared at him, face showing the same confusion from before.

"Brie? You okay?"

"I ju…our stuff?"

"Already moved in, most of it's packed away thanks to Melissa, but not all of it."

"This is so hard to believe."

He nodded, knowing she was shocked to the point that she was at a complete loss for words and he gently took her hands, pulling her inside the gate. "Well, while you process everything, why don't we take a look inside?"

Wordlessly she followed him inside as he showed her around what could very well be her dream home.

**-XOXO-**

Around 7pm, Gabriella was standing over the crib set up for Christian, watching her son sleep peacefully inside it. Her hand came down, stroking his sleeping form softly, as it moved up and down slightly following his breathing.

Moving away from his crib, she looked out the window, taking in the surroundings. Behind the ocean that sat a little ways back, she could see the sun setting, casting a light orange hue throughout the sky. She could see figures walking along the shores as well as the kids from the neighboring condo playing about in the shared pool.

Seconds later, a hand came out to rest on her hip, tearing her away from the outside world to look at Troy. He nodded his head to the side, insinuating that they should leave the room and quickly pressed a kiss to his son's head before following Gabriella out and shutting the door.

She lead the way to the living room and made herself comfortable on the L shaped couch, legs stretching out on a part of the L while Troy made his own spot next to her.

"You okay?"

She giggled a little bit. "I feel like you've asked me that at least a hundred times today."

He shrugged. "Well, I worry about you."

"You don't need to."

"I'm still going to," he assured her.

She rolled her eyes with a shake of her head, but nevertheless still smiled at his statement. "You know we need to talk about this, right?"

He nodded, grabbing her hand. "I was wondering when you would mention that."

"Well, you had to know it was coming."

"I did."

She played with his fingers that were intertwined with hers, trying to figure out her words. "Troy, you know this whole situation is complicated beyond belief."

"True, but that doesn't change my feelings for you."

"And it doesn't change mine either, but if we didn't work out well the first time, what makes you think we will now?"

"We didn't have a baby the first time," he chuckled.

"Baby's don't always help relationships, most time they hurt them. You know what happened with my parents."

"Well your mom and Joe seemed to do just fine. And I'm not Carlos, I won't just leave you."

"How do I know that? I don't want to go through what my mom did."

"Because I'm telling you, Gabriella," he answered, squeezing her hands in his. "I would never lie to you. I want to be with you, I want to marry you one day and I want to start a family with you. Which, technically, we already did, so why mess it up now? I want to be with you and Christian."

She looked down. "I scared."

"Of what?"

She shrugged, looking up to meet his eyes. "Of all of it. What if I'm not a good mom? Or what if somewhere between trying to be parents to him and stay together, we can't do it and wind up hurting each other. I don't want to go through that again. Those first few weeks without you where you didn't know about me being pregnant were awful and I admit it was partly my fault for not saying anything but…"

"I don't blame you and you shouldn't blame yourself either," Troy cut her off. "If you want me to be honest with you, then here it is: I love you, Gabriella Montez and I always have, regardless of what anyone else has said or done, my feelings have been the same for you since day one. And when I told you before that I would stick with you, that I would be in it for the long run and that we would do this together, I meant that. I'm not going anywhere."

Pausing to contemplate the information, Gabriella thought about it all. She really wanted to make it work and it was clear that Troy did as well, but she had some fears about it, no doubt. But then again, doesn't everyone have something to fear sometimes. If they could overcome it, so could she and maybe the best thing for her right now would be to test it out. She would never know if she didn't try.

So then she turned to him and smiled the biggest smile she'd had since seeing Christian for the first time and pushed herself closer to Troy on the couch, her hands reaching back behind his head, gripping onto his hair and pulling his head close to hers. "I love you too," she spoke before pressing her lips to his with the decision that this is her life now and she was going to make the best of it.

* * *

_**AN: Once again, I hope you liked it because it was long overdue. I'm gonna try to post the next chapter either tomorrow or Friday, so until then REVIEW!**_


	24. Chapter 24

**Last chapter, I hope you guys like it (:**

* * *

Age Appropriate

_**Previously**_

"_You see the condominium on the far right?"_

"_What?" She asked confused. "What about it? Troy, I really don't want to do this, I just want to go home…"_

"_We are home. It's ours."_

"_I'm tired and I…what? You didn't say that."_

"_I did."_

"_You didn't say what I think you just said."_

_He nodded. "I did. The condominium is ours."_

"_Ours? As in me and you and Christian?"_

"_That's the only way to be a family, right?"_

_**xx**_

"_Troy, you know this whole situation is complicated beyond belief."_

"_True, but that doesn't change my feelings for you."_

"_And it doesn't change mine either, but if we didn't work out well the first time, what makes you think we will now?"_

"_We didn't have a baby the first time," he chuckled._

"_Baby's don't always help relationships, most time they hurt them. You know what happened with my parents."_

_**xx**_

_She looked down. "I scared."_

"_Of what?"_

"_Of all of it. What if I'm not a good mom? Or what if somewhere between trying to be parents to him and stay together, we can't do it and wind up hurting each other. I don't want to go through that again. Those first few weeks without you where you didn't know about me being pregnant were awful and I admit it was partly my fault for not saying anything but…"_

"_I don't blame you and you shouldn't blame yourself either," Troy cut her off. "If you want me to be honest with you, then here it is: I love you, Gabriella Montez and I always have, regardless of what anyone else has said or done, my feelings have been the same for you since day one. And when I told you before that I would stick with you, that I would be in it for the long run and that we would do this together, I meant that. I'm not going anywhere."_

_She pushed herself closer to Troy on the couch, her hands reaching back behind his head, gripping onto his hair and pulling his head close to hers. "I love you too," she spoke before pressing her lips to his with the decision that this is her life now and she was going to make the best of it._

* * *

_**If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life.**_

_**-Oscar Wilde**_

* * *

Chapter 24

_4 years later_

"Christian Joseph Bolton, get over here right now!"

Despite his mother calling his name, the naked 4 year old continued to run around the condo giggling, enjoying his…er…freedom.

Gabriella Montez stopped and sighed, knowing that with as much energy as he had, she would not be able to catch her little boy anytime soon. So she walked over to the kitchen table and sat her 21 year old body in the desk, hoping to wait out her son with the hopes that all that energy would soon result in a crash.

"I need a beer," she spoke to herself, running a hand down her face and then checking the time on the clock above the fridge.

Troy Bolton rested his 25 year old frame against the entry way into the kitchen, watching his girlfriend curiously. "I'd be glad to get you one of those, but I thought you might want the boy first. And it is only one in the afternoon."

Looking over at her boyfriend with pleading eyes, she pouted and mouthed the word please to him to which he rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the doorframe, quickly going after his son. "Come here, you little monster!"

Troy's statement resulted in some more giggling and little feet running, but before long, Gabriella looked up to see Troy walk back in, holding their naked and giggling son upside down by his feet.

"Troy! Be careful. We don't need to take him to the hospital because all the blood rushed to his head," Gabriella scolded.

"A thank you would have sufficed babe."

"Thank you," she complied. "Now put him down please…right side up."

"First, what do you have to say buddy?" he questioned his son, stilling hanging upside down.

"I'm sorry mama."

"For?" Troy encouraged him.

"Not liswening."

"And?"

"Wunning around nakie."

"And what's gonna happen next time?"

"I'm gonna come when you call me or I'll be in big twouble."

"Okay," Troy smiled satisfied before turning him around so his head was above his feet again and sitting him on his mother's lap.

"Troy!" She exclaimed at the fact that her son was naked on her lap and she was already dressed."

"You're welcome," he said kissing her gently before walking out of the room.

"Gwandma Lucy! Gwandpa Jack! Gwandma Julie!" Christian cried as soon as Troy let him out of his car seat once they had gotten to Melissa's new house. Following Gabriella moving out and in with Troy, Melissa had met a man and surprisingly enough, 2 years later she'd gotten married to that man. James had been a pretty great guy and was easily welcomed into the family. They'd stayed in Melissa's apartment for a while, but recently after finding out that their family was going to grow a bit bigger, they'd decided to buy a house. Naturally, the first big family get together, which happened to be for the 4th of July, included both sides of their families and Troy and his parents, and would take place at James and Melissa's huge 2 story, 4 bedroom home.

"I hate you, you know that?" Gabriella questioned Troy as he walked around to meet her on the other side of the car.

"No, actually I thought you loved me." He answered, placing his hands on her hips and moving closer to her.

Getting distracted by the intimate nature of how close he was, Gabriella closed her eyes, almost forgetting what she was saying to him. "I do…but what you did…ugh Troy, no fair!"

Grinning he leaned down and kissed her. "All's fair in love and war, Brie."

As they pulled away, Gabriella smirked, leaning up to whisper in his ear. "Let's see if you'll be saying that later tonight."

"Okay you two, come join the party," Melissa called as she half waddled over to her niece and boyfriend.

Gabriella turned from Troy triumphantly and smiled at her aunt, pulling her into a hug and then resting her hands on her protruding stomach. "You look so good, Aunt Mel."

Melissa rolled her eyes. "Don't lie to me. I look like a whale. I'm bloated and swelling all over."

"But you have to admit, you're a pretty hot whale."

"Stop spoiling me with compliments. Hey Troy," she greeted the young man before they all walked back to where everyone was gathered and having a good time. Christian was animatedly telling his grandparents about daycare and how much fun he had and James was cooking up something on the grill.

As Troy and Melissa went to join the group, Gabriella noticed how someone was missing and looked around curiously, but couldn't find who she was looking for anywhere. "Mom," she called out to Julianne who quickly excused herself from the group. "Where's Carlos? I thought he said he was coming."

Julianne shrugged. "I have no idea sweetie. I haven't spoken to him since Wednesday when we went for counseling."

Julianne went back to the group as Gabriella sat alone in thought. Over the last 4 years, her relationship with her birth father had gotten better. Carlos and Julianne decided to work on their relationship. Not necessarily to rekindle things, but just to get back a friendship and be parents to their daughter. They'd been going to therapy together as well Gabriella, who joined in on a couple sessions with them. It was her way of letting him back into her life after he'd walked out all those years ago. It was also helping with him wanting to get to know his biological grandson.

"Leave it to you to be standing alone in a place full of people," Carlos spoke to Gabriella as he walked up beside her.

She smiled, giving him a quick hug. "I thought you weren't going to show."

"When have I not showed…lately," he added last minute after seeing the look on her face.

"Well I guess it's true that you've stuck true to your word lately."

"You don't sound too enthused about that."

Gabriella smiled. "Trust me, I am."

"So how's the job going?"

"It's good. Getting better every day." Following her recent graduation from college, Gabriella had got a job as an assistant teacher at a local high school. Starting out, she'd had a rough time with the high schoolers, but they'd gotten used to her after a while.

"And things with Troy? And Christian."

"Troy's fine, and he loves the job engineering at the car factory. I swear it's all he talks about sometimes," she laughed. "And Christian…he absolutely loves being at daycare. Sometimes I think more than being with me."

"Doubt that, you're his mother. That boy is attached to you."

Looking over at her son, she couldn't help but smile as he'd moved excitedly over to James at the grill, eager to help while Troy looked on from a few feet away.

"Guess so. He's like my entire life. I don't know where I'd be without him."

"Are you talking about Troy or Christian?"

Gabriella blushed, having been caught. "Both really. They're my guys. They're my life."

"Surprised you two haven't tied the knot yet," Carlos spoke in wonder.

Gabriella shook her head. "I'm kind of impartial to that."

"What, you don't want to?"

She shrugged. "It's not that, I just…I'm not expecting it to happen, you know. It's not like I'm begging him for a ring. Sure it would be nice, but we're already together and if he decides that he wants to then I'm not going to say no."

"You could ask him."

"It's really not that serious."

"It is actually. What if something ever happens to him? Or to you. You won't be able to say he's your husband, but the closest you'll get is being his girlfriend and his 'baby mama'."

Gabriella giggled, shrugging. "I'm happy where I am, Dad."

Carlos smiled at her use of words and then looked over her shoulder. "I wouldn't knock the idea of being happier so soon."

"What?" She turned in the direction that he'd just been looking to see Troy walking up to her with Christian on his hip. "Hey, here are my two favorite boys."

As Christian was put down, Gabriella kneeled down and he flew right into her arms. "Mommy! Can I ask you something?"

"Of course baby."

"Do you love Daddy?"

She glanced up at Troy with a smile. "Of course I do, and I love you too."

"Well I love you a lot! Like this much," he said opening his little arms as wide as they would go. "But Daddy loves you a lot too."

"Is that so?"

Christian nodded his head. "Uh huh, and guess what? I got a secwet to tell you."

"Okay, what is it?"

Leaning forward and cupping his hands, he whispered the next part close to his mother's face. "Daddy wants to know if you would mawwy him."

"If I could…" Gabriella looked at her son, confused by his mispronunciation of the word marry. Then she let her eyes trail up over the little boys head to see Troy's knelt down figure behind him. "My God…"

Troy was down on one knee in front of the two and had the attention of every single person that was gathered at the house. In his hand was a small black box that he had yet to open up. Gabriella quickly moved around Christian's body to step closer to Troy.

"You're not seriously doing this?" She asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

He smiled, nodding his head. "I am," he replied opening the box to reveal the beautiful engagement ring inside. "Gabriella Montez, will you…"

"I heard the question when Christian asked it Troy," Gabriella cut him off. "And my answer's yes. Of course it's yes."

He slipped the ring on her finger with a grin and stood up to engulf her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he picked her up and spun her around, earning laughs and claps from the crowd of friends and family that was surrounding them.

"I hate you, you know that?" Gabriella asked as he put her down.

"I love you too," He said pressing his lips to hers just as Christian walked up and tugged on his pants leg.

"What about me?" The little boy pouted.

Gabriella picked him up and held him in between the two of them. "We love you too, buddy," Troy agreed.

Christian smiled. "Okay, just don't kiss me."

Looking at each other, Troy and Gabriella quickly attacked their son with kisses on both cheeks while he shrieked in delight. They were a family and nothing was going to get in the way of that.

* * *

**Aww, that's it! Age Appropriate is done! I really hope you guys liked this story. I know I posted it a day later than I said, but look on the plus side, tomorrow either before I go to work at 11 or when I get home at 4, I'll be posting a new story for you guys so keep on the lookout for that. All I have to decide now is which story I want to post first cuz I've got a couple. Anyway, thanks a bunch for reading and REVIEW!**

**~xxTheRainWillFallxx**


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